کد مقاله | کد نشریه | سال انتشار | مقاله انگلیسی | نسخه تمام متن |
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3347131 | 1215940 | 2013 | 6 صفحه PDF | دانلود رایگان |

Biomarkers such as procalcitonin (PCT) have been studied to guide duration of antibiotic therapy. We aimed to assess whether a decrease in PCT levels could be used to reduce the duration of antibiotic therapy in intensive care unit (ICU) patients with a proven infection without risking a worse outcome. We assessed 265 patients with suspected sepsis, severe sepsis, or septic shock in our ICU. Of those, we randomized 81 patients with a proven bacterial infection into 2 groups: an intervention group in which the duration of the antibiotic therapy was guided by a PCT protocol and a control group in which there was no PCT guidance. In the per-protocol analysis, the median antibiotic duration was 9 days in the PCT group (n = 20) versus 13 days in the non-PCT group (n = 31), P = 0.008. This study demonstrates that PCT can be a useful tool for limiting antimicrobial therapy in ICU patients with documented bacterial infection.
Journal: Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease - Volume 76, Issue 3, July 2013, Pages 266–271