Procalcitonin-Guided Antibiotic Therapy Reduces Antibiotic Use for Lower Respiratory Tract Infections in a United States Medical Center: Results of a Clinical Trial.

ABSTRACT:

Background

European trials using procalcitonin (PCT)-guided antibiotic therapy for patients with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) have demonstrated significant reductions in antibiotic use without increasing adverse outcomes. Few studies have examined PCT for LRTIs in the United States.

Methods

In this study, we evaluated whether a PCT algorithm would reduce antibiotic exposure in patients with LRTI in a US hospital. We conducted a controlled pre-post trial comparing an intervention group of PCT-guided antibiotic therapy to a control group of usual care. Consecutive patients admitted to medicine services and receiving antibiotics for LRTI were enrolled in the intervention. Providers were encouraged to discontinue antibiotics according to a PCT algorithm. Control pa

SUBMITTER: Townsend J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6306569 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature