ReviewAging clinical and experimental research2023
Biomarkers for risk stratification and antibiotic stewardship in elderly patients.
Review in Aging clinical and experimental research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 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
11 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Sepsis in Frail Older Adults: Tailored Antimicrobial Stewardship and Individualized Care Approach.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- The Role and Importance of Procalcitonin (PCT) Testing in Rational Antibiotic Prescribing and Antibiotic Stewardship Programs.Immunity, inflammation and disease · 2026Review
- Article
- Novel and simplified model for the precise identification of concurrent bacterial infections in patients aged 60 years and older with acute-on-chronic liver diseases: a nationwide, multicentre, prospective cohort study.Hepatology international · 2025Article
- A Host-Protein Test for Differentiating Bacterial From Viral Infection: Diagnostic Accuracy in Elderly Patients.Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open · 2025Article
- A novel nomogram for the early identification of coinfections in elderly patients with coronavirus disease 2019.Virology journal · 2025Observational
- Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence for Infectious Disease Surveillance, Diagnosis, and Prognosis.Viruses · 2025Review
- Preliminary Report on the Influence of Acute Inflammation on Adiponectin Levels in Older Inpatients with Different Nutritional Status.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- The critically ill older patient with sepsis: a narrative review.Annals of intensive care · 2024Review
- Melatonin and Cytokines Modulate Daily Instrumental Activities of Elderly People with SARS-CoV-2 Infection.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Septic encephalopathy in the elderly - biomarkers of potential clinical utility.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 6 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeOptimal treatment of infections in the elderly patients population is challenging because clinical symptoms and signs may be less specific potentially resulting in both, over- and undertreatment. Elderly patients also have a less pronounced immune response to infection, which may influence kinetics of biomarkers of infection.
methodsWithin a group of experts, we critically reviewed the current literature regarding biomarkers for risk stratification and antibiotic stewardship in elderly patients with emphasis on procalcitonin (PCT).
resultsThe expert group agreed that there is strong evidence that the elderly patient population is particularly vulnerable for infections and due to ambiguity of clinical signs and parameters in the elderly, there is considerable risk for undertreatment. At the same time, however, this group of patients is particularly vulnerable for off-target effects from antibiotic treatment and limiting the use of antibiotics is therefore important. The use of infection markers including PCT to guide individual treatment decisions has thus particular appeal in geriatric patients. For the elderly, there is evidence that PCT is a valuable biomarker for assessing the risk of septic complications and adverse outcomes, and helpful for guiding individual decisions for or against antibiotic treatment. There is need for additional educational efforts regarding the concept of "biomarker-guided antibiotic stewardship" for health care providers caring for elderly patients.
conclusionUse of biomarkers, most notably PCT, has high potential to improve the antibiotic management of elderly patients with possible infection for improving both, undertreatment and overtreatment. Within this narrative review, we aim to provide evidence-based concepts for the safe and efficient use of PCT in elderly patients.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.