ReviewInternational journal of medical sciences2020
Procalcitonin: A promising tool or just another overhyped test?
Review in International journal of medical sciences, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed, 86 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
- Procalcitonin kinetics in critically ill patients: a retrospective analysis of the impact of renal dysfunction and renal replacement therapy.Journal of anesthesia, analgesia and critical care · 2026Article
- Decoy receptor 3 as a diagnostic marker for sepsis: a meta-analysis.Intensive care medicine experimental · 2026Review
- Sepsis induced coagulopathy (SIC): is it monolithic?Thrombosis journal · 2026Article
- Procalcitonin-guided antibiotic therapy in adult sepsis: A biochemical perspective from a retrospective cohort study.Journal of medical biochemistry · 2026Article
- Toll-like receptor 5 on monocyte as a biomarker of mortality risk in patients with sepsis.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Multi-Marker Approach in Sepsis: A Clinical Role Beyond SOFA Score.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Article
- Biomarker-based diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia using serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid levels of presepsin, procalcitonin, and lipopolysaccharide-binding protein.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Article
- Identifying the thresholds of C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, and interleukin-6 among children ≤36 months' old with fever without source at risk of serious bacterial infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Review
- Metabolic and Endocrine Markers of Oregano Essential Oil Effects on Antibacterial Immunity, Reproductive Function, Nutritional Status, and Production Performance of Late-Phase Laying Hens.Veterinary sciences · 2025Article
- Postoperative laboratory markers as predictors of early spinal surgical site infections: A retrospective cohort study.Chinese journal of traumatology = Zhonghua chuang shang za zhi · 2025Article
- Early identification and diagnosis of fournier gangrene: a machine learning approach integrating serological characterization.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- [Antibiotic stewardship-an update : Ongoing development of an initiative].Medizinische Klinik, Intensivmedizin und Notfallmedizin · 2025Review
- Unraveling immunosenescence in sepsis: from cellular mechanisms to therapeutics.Cell death & disease · 2025Review
- Procalcitonin and interleukin- 6 in predicting prognosis of sepsis patients with cancer.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Article
- Predicting purulent meningitis in very preterm infants: a novel clinical model.BMC pediatrics · 2025Article
- Integration of metabolomics methodologies for the development of predictive models for mortality risk in elderly patients with severe COVID-19.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Comprehensive Sepsis Risk Prediction in Leukemia Using a Random Forest Model and Restricted Cubic Spline Analysis.Journal of inflammation research · 2025Article
- Causal Relationship Between Intelligence, Noncognitive Education, Cognition and Urinary Tract or Kidney Infection: A Mendelian Randomization Study.International journal of nephrology and renovascular disease · 2025Article
- PCT/ALB Ratio in Initial Three days for the Prediction of Secondary Infection in Septic Patients.Infection and drug resistance · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Sepsis is the leading cause of death worldwide. Timely administration of antibiotics is recognized as the cornerstone in the management of sepsis. However, inappropriate use of antibiotics may lead to adverse effects and the selection of drug-resistant pathogens. Microbiological cultures remain the gold standard to diagnose infection despite their low sensitivity and the intrinsic delay to obtain the results. Certain biomarkers have the benefit of rapid turnover, potentially providing an advantage in timely diagnosis leading to accurate treatment. Over the last few decades, there is an ongoing quest for the ideal biomarker in sepsis. Procalcitonin (PCT), when used alone or alongside additional clinical information, has shown to be a promising tool to aid in the diagnosis and management of patients with sepsis. In February 2017, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of PCT to guide antibiotic treatment in lower respiratory tract infections and sepsis. Despite a good negative predictive value for bacterial infection, the utility of PCT-guided antibiotic initiation is conflicting at best. On the other hand, the use of PCT-guided antibiotic discontinuation has shown to reduce the duration of antibiotic use, the associated adverse effects, and to decrease the overall mortality. The current review discusses the history and pathophysiology of procalcitonin, synthesizes its utility in the diagnosis and management of sepsis, highlights its limitations and compares it with other biomarkers in sepsis.
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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.