Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33030706›Full record

SynthesisAdvances in experimental medicine and biology2021

Procalcitonin in the Assessment of Ventilator Associated Pneumonia: A Systematic Review.

Francesco Alessandri, Francesco Pugliese, Silvia Angeletti, Massimo Ciccozzi, Alessandro Russo, Claudio M Mastroianni, Gabriella d'Ettorre, Mario Venditti, Giancarlo Ceccarelli

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Advances in experimental medicine and biology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
24.9field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 23 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Guideline
  2. Challenges and opportunities in the management of severe pneumonia. Key concepts from the Seventh Annual Meeting of Spanish Experts 2025.Revista espanola de quimioterapia : publicacion oficial de la Sociedad Espanola de Quimioterapia · 2026
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Changes of C-reactive protein and Procalcitonin after four weeks of treatment in patients with pulmonary TB.Journal of clinical tuberculosis and other mycobacterial diseases · 2023
    Article
  6. Review
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Extensive microbiological respiratory tract specimen characterization in critically ill COVID-19 patients.APMIS : acta pathologica, microbiologica, et immunologica Scandinavica · 2021
    Observational
  10. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Francesco AlessandriDepartment of Anaesthesia and Critical Care Medicine, University of Rome "Sapienza", Rome, Italy.
Francesco PuglieseDepartment of Anaesthesia and Critical Care Medicine, University of Rome "Sapienza", Rome, Italy.
Silvia AngelettiUnit of Clinical Laboratory Science, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Massimo CiccozziUnit of Medical Statistics and Molecular Epidemiology, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Alessandro RussoDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
Claudio M MastroianniAzienda Policlinico Umberto I, Rome, Italy.
Gabriella d'EttorreAzienda Policlinico Umberto I, Rome, Italy.
Mario VendittiAzienda Policlinico Umberto I, Rome, Italy.
Giancarlo CeccarelliAzienda Policlinico Umberto I, Rome, Italy. giancarlo.ceccarelli@uniroma1.it.
Policlinico Umberto I · ITSapienza University of Rome · ITUniversità Campus Bio-Medico · ITUniversity of Pisa · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundVentilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is one of the most common nosocomial infection, associated with considerable mortality and morbidity in critically ill patients; however, its diagnosis and management remain challenging since clinical assessment is often poorly reliable. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the role of PCT in the diagnosis and management of critical ill patients affected by VAP.

methodsWe performed a systematic review of the evidence published over the last 10 years and currently available in medical literature search databases (Pubmed, Embase, Web of Knowledge, Cochrane Libraries) and searching clinical trial registries. We regarded as predefined outcomes the role of PCT in diagnosis, therapeutic monitoring, antibiotic discontinuation and prognosis. The Open Science Framework Registration number was doi.org/10.17605/OSF. IO/ZGFKQ

results761 articles were retrieved and a total of 18 studies (n° of patients = 1774) were selected and analyzed according to inclusion criteria. In this 2020 update, the systematic review showed that currently, conflicting and inconclusive data are available about the role of PCT in the diagnosis of VAP and in the prediction (i) of the efficacy of antibiotic therapy, and (ii) of the clinical outcome. These studies, instead, seem to agree on the utility of PCT in the management of antibiotic therapy discontinuation.

conclusionsCurrently there is insufficient evidence to support the role of PCT in the routine assessment of patients with VAP. The value of the results published appears to be limited by the deep methodological differences that characterize the various studies available at the present being.

Indexed as

Cross InfectionPneumonia, Ventilator-AssociatedAnti-Bacterial AgentsCritical IllnessHumansProcalcitoninAnti-Bacterial AgentsProcalcitoninAntibiotic stewardshipAntibiotic therapyCritical careDriven discontinuationICUIntensive care unitPCTPneumoniaProcalcitoninSystematic reviewVAPVentilator associated pneumonia

Identifiers

PMID33030706
OpenAlexW3091825651

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.