21 Mar 2023 • Guidelines for utilising procalcitonin (PCT) for appropriate antibiotic usage have recently been published in the Indian Journal of Critical Care Medicine.  Antibiotic resistance is quickly becoming a global issue. Two basic strategies have been proposed to address this issue. The optimal use of antibiotics, which has been developed into a new idea called antibiotic stewardship, is one of the option. This Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine (ISCCM) recommendation framework for serum PCT in antibiotic stewardship for diverse illnesses frames evidence-based guidelines.

The recommendations for PCT in Sepsis are listed below: • Patients with sepsis may have their PCT levels checked. • Sepsis should not be diagnosed only based on procalcitonin levels. • The authors suggest that PCT be used to differentiate culture-negative sepsis from non-sepsis. •  Procalcitonin levels may be used to determine the degree of infection in a patient with sepsis and to support the termination or de-escalation of antibiotic therapy. • Doctors should be aware of infections for which PCT is an unreliable marker.

Similar recommendations have been published for Lower Respiratory Tract Infections and other infections.

Source: Medical Dialogues | Read full story