Observational studyPloS one2020
Association between procalcitonin levels and duration of mechanical ventilation in COVID-19 patients.
Observational study in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Coronavirus Disease 2019 as Cause of Viral Sepsis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Critical care medicine · 2021Pooled it
- The Additional Prognostic Value of Serial Biomarker Measurements for Extubation Failure Among Patients With COVID-19 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.Biomarker insights · 2025Article
- Role of Procalcitonin as a Prognostic Biomarker in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: A Comparative Analysis.Biomarker insights · 2025Article
- Immunopathological markers and cell types linked to COVID-19 symptom manifestation.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Article
- The Association between Admission Procalcitonin Level and The Severity of COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Article
- Mortality estimation using APACHE and CT scores with stepwise linear regression method in COVID-19 intensive care unit: A retrospective study.Clinical imaging · 2022Article
- Bacterial and Fungal Coinfection in Critically Ill COVID-19 Cases and Predictive Role of Procalcitonin During the First Wave at an Academic Health Center.Journal of epidemiology and global health · 2022Review
- Corticosteroid Administration and Impaired Glycemic Control in Mechanically Ventilated COVID-19 Patients.Seminars in cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesia · 2022Article
- Baseline procalcitonin as a predictor of bacterial infection and clinical outcomes in COVID-19: A case-control study.PloS one · 2022Observational
- Non-invasive Vagus Nerve Stimulation for COVID-19: Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial (SAVIOR I).Frontiers in neurology · 2022Article
- Budget constrained machine learning for early prediction of adverse outcomes for COVID-19 patients.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Prospective selected biomarkers in COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment.Biomarkers in medicine · 2021Article
- Association Between Hyperoxia, Supplemental Oxygen, and Mortality in Critically Injured Patients.Critical care explorations · 2021Article
- Increased antimicrobial resistance during the COVID-19 pandemic.International journal of antimicrobial agents · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPatients diagnosed with COVID-19 frequently require mechanical ventilation. Knowledge of laboratory tests associated with the prolonged need for mechanical ventilation may guide resource allocation. We hypothesized that an elevated plasma procalcitonin level (>0.1 ng/ml) would be associated with the duration of invasive mechanical ventilation.
methodsPatients diagnosed with COVID-19, who were admitted to any of our health system's hospitals between March 9th-April 20th, 2020 and required invasive mechanical ventilation, were eligible for this observational cohort study. Demographics, comorbidities, components of the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score, and procalcitonin levels on admission were obtained from the electronic health record. The primary outcome was the duration of mechanical ventilation; secondary outcomes included 28-day mortality and time to intubation. Outcomes were assessed within the first 28 days of admission. Baseline demographics and comorbidities were summarized by descriptive statistics. Univariate comparisons were made using Pearson's chi-square test for binary outcomes and Mann-Whitney U test for continuous outcomes. A multiple linear regression was fitted to assess the association between procalcitonin levels and the duration of mechanical ventilation.
resultsPatients with an initial procalcitonin level >0.1 ng/ml required a significantly longer duration of mechanical ventilation than patients with a level of ≤0.1 ng/ml (p = 0.021) in the univariate analysis. There was no significant difference in 28-day mortality or time to intubation between the two groups. After adjusted analysis using multivariable linear regression, the duration of mechanical ventilation was, on average, 5.6 (p = 0.016) days longer in patients with an initial procalcitonin level >0.1 ng/ml.
conclusionIn this cohort of 93 mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients, we found an association between an initial plasma procalcitonin level >0.1 ng/ml and the duration of mechanical ventilation. These findings may help to identify patients at risk for prolonged mechanical ventilation upon admission.
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