ArticleFrontiers in medicine2026
Compliance of procalcitonin-guided antibiotic therapy in adult infectious patients in China: a multicenter real-world retrospective study.
Article in Frontiers in medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Introduction: Procalcitonin (PCT) is widely applied to guide antibiotic therapy, and its use-particularly for guiding antibiotic discontinuation-has been recommended in Chinese expert consensus for the past 5 years, in alignment with international guidelines. However, real-world adherence and optimal timing remain unclear. Methods: This retrospective study analyzed adult patients with confirmed infections admitted to emergency intensive care units (EICUs) in 2023. Compliance with guidelines was assessed, focusing on stopping antibiotics when PCT dropped below 0.5 ng/mL or decreased by ≥80% within 24, 48, and 72 h after meeting criteria. Results: Among 195 patients, 52.3% met PCT criteria had a lower mortality rate than non-compliant cases (13.7% vs. 28.0%, Discussion: The adherence to PCT-guided algorithms in routine practice in China-particularly timely discontinuation within 24 h-was low. Earlier discontinuation within 72 h was associated with shorter EICU stays and reduced antibiotic exposure. Importantly, no increase in mortality was observed. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings.
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