Efficacy and Safety of Procalcitonin Guidance in Patients With Suspected or Confirmed Sepsis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis*

Abstract

In adult patients with suspected or confirmed sepsis, procalcitonin guidance reduces antibiotics duration with no observed adverse effects on patient outcomes.

Procalcitonin; a feasible biomarker for severe bacterial infections in Obstetrics and Gynecology?

“…The use of PCT has been evaluated for the decision to stop antibiotic treatment. A recent meta-analysis confirms that PCT can be a feasible biomarker for the reduction of consumption and duration of antibiotics for septic patients (7). This has also been shown in newborns with early-onset sepsis (8).…”

“…Quantitative estimation of PCT is useful. Systemic infection (sepsis) is unlikely with PCT level of <0.5 μg/L . A level of 0.5–2.0 μg/L indicates possible systemic sepsis, 2.0–10.0 μg/L suggests that systemic infection (sepsis) likely and PCT levels of >10.0 μg/L indicate severe bacterial infection, almost always bacterial sepsis or septic shock.…”

“…Quantitative estimation of PCT is useful. Systemic infection (sepsis) is unlikely with PCT level of <0.5 lg/L (7). A level of 0. might be more useful for diagnosing infection than single PCT measurements.…”

Procalcitonin in the diagnosis of sepsis and its correlations with upcoming novel diagnostic markers

“…A declining ProCT level in the first few days has been shown to be a predictor of mortal- ity [17,33]. A meta-analysis of 10 RCTs with 3489 patients demonstrated that ProCT monitoring with clinical evaluation resulted in a shorter duration of antibiotic use of about 1.5 days and demonstrated that ProCT use did not have a negative effect on mortality or duration of ICU stay [34].…”

Procalcitonin in patients with fever: one approach does not fit all

“…Patients presenting to the emergency department with fever may present opportunities to improve antimicrobial usage by the addition of novel host-directed markers, such as procalcitonin (PCT), to clinical judgment and pathogendirected tests [2]. Although previous trials found PCT to decrease antibiotic usage and improve clinical outcomes in specific indications such as lower respiratory tract infection [3] and sepsis [4], the value of PCT in patients with fever without specified clinical syndrome has been understudied.…”