RT Book, Section
A1 Boslett, Bryn A.
A1 Schwartz, Brian S.
A2 Papadakis, Maxine A.
A2 McPhee, Stephen J.
A2 Rabow, Michael W.
SR Print(0)
ID 1166619310
T1 Procalcitonin
T2 Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment 2020
YR 2020
FD 2020
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9781260455281
LK accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1166619310
RD 2022/05/20
AB Procalcitonin  is  a  peptide  released  by  human  cells  in  response  to  exposure  to  bacterial  toxins  and  is  measurable  in  the  serum.  Procalcitonin  is  also  downregulated  in  the  setting  of  viral  infection.  Therefore,  it  is  more  specific  than  C-reactive  protein  or  white  blood  cell  count.  Procalcitonin  has  been  studied  as  a  marker  to  determine  both  when  to  start  antibiotic  therapy  and  duration  of  antibiotic  therapy  in  infection.  In  these  trials,  antibiotics  were  safely  held  or  withdrawn  when  the  procalcitonin  level  was  normal  or  decreasing  by  a  substantial  amount.  Systematic  reviews  of  available  literature  support  the  use  of  procalcitonin  to  guide  treatment  in  patients  presenting  with  acute  respiratory  infections  and  sepsis.  Antibiotic  consumption  is  significantly  reduced  across  different  clinical  settings  when  guided  by  procalcitonin  levels;  procalcitonin  can  be  used  effectively  in  these  settings  only  when  used  as  a  point  of  care  test.