Evaluation of Serial Procalcitonin Levels for the Optimization of Antibiotic Use in Non-Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Procalcitonin (PCT) has been used as a biomarker to guide antibiotic therapy in various patient populations. However, its role in optimizing antibiotic use in COVID-19 patients has not been well studied to date. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the use of serial PCT monitoring as an antimicrobial stewardship tool for COVID-19 patients.

Methods

This retrospective study included 240 COVID-19 patients who were admitted to a tertiary medical institution in Saudi Arabia between January 2020 and February 2022. Patients who received empiric antibiotic therapy for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and had serial procalcitonin levels were included. The patients were divided into two groups: the normal procalcitonin arm (PCT level < 0.5 ng/mL) and the elevated PCT arm (PCT level

SUBMITTER: Almulhim AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11124043 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature