ReviewOpen forum infectious diseases2017
Using Procalcitonin to Guide Antibiotic Therapy.
Review in Open forum infectious diseases, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06395454 (Procalcitonin as a Sepsis Biomarker in Guiding Antibiotics Treatment Duration in Ventilator Associated Pneumonia in Neuro-ICU), which is not on this map. Cited by 47 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Procalcitonin as a Sepsis Biomarker in Guiding Antibiotics Treatment Duration in Ventilator Associated Pneumonia in Neuro-ICU: A Randomised Controlled Trial
Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Recommendations for antibacterial therapy in adults with COVID-19 - an evidence based guideline.Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases · 2021Guideline
- Procalcitonin, mid-regional proadrenomedullin and C-reactive protein in predicting treatment outcome in community-acquired febrile urinary tract infection.BMC infectious diseases · 2019Trial
- Diagnostics for priority bacterial pathogens: global gaps and research needs for curbing antimicrobial resistance in low-resource settings.The Lancet. Microbe · 2026Review
- Intensive care infection score: ICIS discriminates between infected and uninfected critically ill patients in routine intensive care unit practice.Intensive care medicine experimental · 2025Article
- Antibiotic Treatment in Patients Hospitalized for Nonsevere COVID-19.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- Real-world interpretation of procalcitonin to guide antibiotic prescribing: a retrospective cohort study with regression discontinuity analysis.Antimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology : ASHE · 2025Article
- Procalcitonin-guided antibiotic therapy in elderly ICU patients with severe pneumonia: a retrospective analysis of biomarker dynamics.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Study of the Role of C-reactive Protein/Procalcitonin Ratio as a Prognostic Tool in ICU Patients with Sepsis: A Prospective Observational Study.Indian journal of critical care medicine : peer-reviewed, official publication of Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine · 2024Article
- Serum Procalcitonin, Hematology Parameters, and Cell Morphology in Multiple Clinical Conditions and Sepsis.Journal of clinical laboratory analysis · 2024Article
- Antibiotic Stewardship in Surgical Departments.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Exploring the Impact of Model-Informed Precision Dosing on Procalcitonin Concentrations in Critically Ill Patients: A Secondary Analysis of the DOLPHIN Trial.Pharmaceutics · 2024Article
- Fever and infections in surgical intensive care: an American Association for the Surgery of Trauma Critical Care Committee clinical consensus document.Trauma surgery & acute care open · 2024Article
- Progress in Procalcitonin Detection Based on Immunoassay.Research (Washington, D.C.) · 2024Review
- Procalcitonin-Based Antibiotic Use for Neonatal Early-Onset Bacterial Infections: Pre- and Post-Intervention Clinical Study.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Clinical Uncertainty Influences Antibiotic Prescribing for Upper Respiratory Tract Infections: A Qualitative Study of Township Hospital Physicians and Village Doctors in Rural Shandong Province, China.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Controversies in the management of acute pancreatitis: An update.World journal of clinical cases · 2023Review
- The Role of Procalcitonin as an Antimicrobial Stewardship Tool in Patients Hospitalized with Seasonal Influenza.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Biomarkers as Prognostic Predictors and Therapeutic Guide in Critically Ill Patients: Clinical Evidence.Journal of personalized medicine · 2023Review
- Prognostic value of procalcitonin in cancer patients with coronavirus disease 2019.Clinical chemistry and laboratory medicine · 2023Article
- An evaluation into the use of procalcitonin levels as a biomarker of bacterial sepsis to aid the management of intrapartum pyrexia and chorioamnionitis.AJOG global reports · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Procalcitonin levels rise in response to systemic inflammation, especially of bacterial origin. Multiple randomized controlled trials have demonstrated that procalcitonin-based algorithms can safely reduce antibiotic use in 2 clinical scenarios. First, in stable, low-risk patients with respiratory infections, procalcitonin levels of <0.25 µg/L can guide the decision to withhold antibiotics or stop therapy early. Second, in critically ill patients with suspected sepsis, clinicians should not initially withhold antibiotics, but procalcitonin levels of <0.5 µg/L or levels that decrease by ≥80% from peak can guide discontinuation once patients stabilize. The recent stop antibiotics on procalcitonin guidance study (SAPS), the largest procalcitonin trial to date, demonstrated reduction in both antibiotic exposure and mortality in critically ill patients. Although procalcitonin is ready for routine use, future research should examine optimal strategies for implementation in hospitals, its real-world impact on clinical outcomes and costs, its applicability to immunocompromised patients, and the generalizability of trials to the US population.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.