Can procalcitonin levels guide antibiotic therapy in bacterial infections and reduce antibiotic overconsumption without having a negative effect on clinical outcomes?

摘要

Fourteen randomized controlled trials met inclusion criteria, with a total of 4,467 patients. In both ED-only studies and all clinical settings combined, there was no difference in mortality between the procalci-tonin groups and the control groups (Table). However, in both settings there was an observed decrease in either antibiotic initiation or duration of use. A sensitivity analysis including the 3 trials deemed at low risk for bias showed similar results with respect to mortality.