Procalcitonin Monitoring and Antibiotic Duration in Presumed Lower Respiratory Tract Infections: A Propensity Score-Matched Cohort Across the Veterans Health Administration.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Randomized controlled trials have shown that procalcitonin-guided algorithms can reduce antibiotic duration for lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs). The goal of this study was to compare antibiotic duration for LRTIs with and without procalcitonin testing in real-life practice.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study included all acute care hospital admissions for presumed LRTIs between 1/2018 and 12/2021 at 81 Veterans Affairs facilities with on-site procalcitonin testing. The exposure was procalcitonin testing; the primary outcome was antibiotic duration. We used 1:1 nearest-neighbor propensity score matching to estimate the difference in outcome between procalcitonin-tested and nontested patients.

Results

A total of 35 610 patients with LRTIs were

SUBMITTER: Heren JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10629903 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature