Procalcitonin to initiate or withhold antibiotics in acute respiratory tract infections: Systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis of randomized trials.
Research Project
|
01.08.2010
- 31.10.2011
The ultimate goal for the use of biomarkers in clinical medicine is to inform decision making for the benefit of the patient. Four intervention trials enrolling more than 1250 patients from the University Hospital Basel have shown that procalcitonin-guidance reduced AB use and AB exposure in patients with acute respiratory tract infections (ARTI) by over 50%. We aim to systematically review all randomised trials comparing a strategy to initiate or withhold antibiotic therapy in patients with ARTI based on PCT cut-off ranges with a control arm without PCT measurement. Our primary objective is to summarize the effects on disease-specific failure of therapy and all-cause mortality by means of an individual patient data meta-analysis.