Objective      To investigate the correlation of the serum level of chromogranin A (CGA) in ICU patients at admission with their illness severity scores and prognosis.       Methods      One hundred and five consecutive patients admitted to intensive care unit in our department from March to May 2010 were recruited

and then divided into 3 groups

that is

non-systemic inflammatory response syndrome (non-SIRS) group

SIRS group and sepsis group (including sepsis

severe sepsis and septic shock subgroups). Another 18 health volunteers served as normal control. The serum levels of CGA and procalcitonin (PCT) at admission were measured. Acute physiology and chronic health evaluationⅡ(APACHE Ⅱ) was calculated as well as sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA).       Results      Serum level of CGA was significantly higher in SIRS group and all the subgroups of sepsis than in the normal control and non-SIRS groups (P0.05). The level of CGA was positively correlated with those of PCT

WBC and creatinine

and the score of APACHE Ⅱ and SOFA（r=0.759

0.570

0.507

0.576

0.718，P0.05）. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis indicated that CGA

APACHE Ⅱ and PCT were indicators for 28-day mortality (Area under curve=0.818

0.789 and 0.685). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the mortality of higher CGA group (with 139 μg/L as the cutoff) was significantly higher than the lower group(P0.01).       Conclusion      Serum CGA level at admission is positively correlated with severity in critically ill patients. Those with the level higher than 139 μg/L have a significantly higher mortality than those with the lower level. CGA is an independent indictor to evaluate the risk of death for ICU patients.