Use of serum procalcitonin levels in treatment decisions for adult patients in the intensive care unit

Peter Goldberg (Director of Adult ICU, Royal Victoria Hospital) to evaluate the use of PCT in the diagnosis of infection and/or sepsis and in antibiotic treatment decision-making for patients with infection/sepsis in the ICU. [...] Method We conducted systematic searches of EMBASE (Ovid), PubMed, the Cochrane Collaboration, DARE, INAHTA, CADTH and ISI Web of Science for systematic reviews of diagnostic and clinical studies of the use of PCT in ICU patients with infection. [...] Results: Literature review Diagnostic performance of a single procalcitonin measurement We retrieved 3 systematic reviews and diagnostic meta-analyses of the use of PCT for the diagnosis of infection/sepsis, carried out in critically ill patients/patients in ICU, as well as several meta-analyses of seriously ill patients in other settings (eg, bacteremia in ER patients, infection in neutropenic or [...] Recommendations • The use of single PCT measurements in the detection of infection in ICU patients or to guide in the decision to initiate or escalate antibiotics is not recommended. [...] Goldberg (Director of Adult ICU, Royal Victoria Hospital) to evaluate the use of procalcitonin in the diagnosis of sepsis and in treatment decision-making for ICU patients with infection including sepsis (microbial invasion of normally sterile regions of the body6).