BackgroundEuropean trials using procalcitonin (PCT)-guided antibiotic therapy for patients with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) have demonstrated significant reductions in antibiotic use without increasing adverse outcomes. Few studies have examined PCT for LRTIs in the United States.MethodsIn this study, we evaluated whether a PCT algorithm would reduce antibiotic exposure in patients with LRTI in a US hospital. We conducted a controlled pre-post trial comparing an intervention group of PCT-guided antibiotic therapy to a control group of usual care. Consecutive patients admitted to medicine services and receiving antibiotics for LRTI were enrolled in the intervention. Providers were encouraged to discontinue antibiotics according to a PCT algorithm. Control patients were similar patients admitted before the intervention.ResultsThe primary endpoint was median antibiotic duration. Overall adverse outcomes at 30 days comprised death, transfer to an intensive care unit, antibiotic side effects, Clostridium difficile infection, disease-specific complications, and post-discharge antibiotic prescription for LRTI. One hundred seventy-four intervention patients and 200 controls were enrolled. Providers complied with the PCT algorithm in 75% of encounters. Procalcitonin-guided therapy reduced median antibiotic duration for pneumonia from 7 days to 6 (P = .045) and acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) from 4 days to 3 (P = .01). There was no difference in the rate of adverse outcomes in the PCT and control groups.ConclusionsA PCT-guided algorithm safely reduced the duration of antibiotics for treating LRTI. Utilization of a PCT algorithm may aid antibiotic stewardship efforts.This clinical trial was a single-center, controlled, pre-post study of PCT-guided antibiotic therapy for LRTI. The intervention (incorporation of PCT-guided algorithms) started on April 1, 2017: the preintervention (control group) comprised patients admitted from November 1, 2016 to April 16, 2017, and the postintervention group comprised patients admitted from April 17, 2017 to November 29, 2017 (Supplementary Figure 1). The study comprised patients admitted to the internal medicine services to a medical ward, the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU), the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU), or the Progressive Care Unit (PCU) “step down unit”. The registration data for the trails are in the ClinicalTrials.gov database, number NCT0310910.

BackgroundEuropean trials using procalcitonin (PCT)-guided antibiotic therapy for patients with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) have resulted in significant reductions in antibiotic use without increasing adverse outcomes. Few prospective studies have examined PCT-guided antibiotic therapy for LRTI in the United States. Our objective was to examine whether an PCT algorithm compared with standard practice would reduce antibiotic exposure in patients with LRTI [pneumonia and acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD)] in an American urban academic hospital.MethodsFrom April 17, 2017 until November 1, 2017, consecutive patients admitted to a medicine service were enrolled in the PCT intervention if they were receiving antibiotics for LRTI and gave consent. Providers were encouraged to discontinue antibiotics using a PCT algorithm with predefined cutoffs. Serum PCT was measured in the hospital laboratory once daily. Results and recommendations were communicated to providers by study team and in the medical record. Control patients were selected by reviewing charts for patients admitted to a medicine service for LRTI from December 1, 2016 to April 16, 2017. The primary endpoint was median antibiotic duration. Overall adverse outcomes at 30 days comprised death, transfer to an intensive care unit, antibiotic side effects, Clostridium difficile infection, disease- specific complications, and new antibiotic prescription for LRTI after discharge.Results174 patients were enrolled in the intervention group and 200 patients in the control group. Intervention group providers complied with the PCT algorithm in 75% of encounters. The rate of overall adverse outcomes was similar in PCT and control groups (21.8% vs. 23.5%; difference, –0.02; 95% CI, –0.10 to 0.07). PCT-guided therapy reduced the median antibiotic duration for pneumonia from 7 days to 6 (P = 0.05), and AECOPD from 4 days to 3 (P = 0.01). Noncompliance with the PCT algorithm resulted in 260 excess antibiotic days in 44 patients.ConclusionIn our center, 75% adherence to a PCT-guided algorithm safely reduced the duration of antibiotics for treating LRTI. Incentivizing providers to comply with PCT-guided algorithms could lead to further reductions in antibiotic use.Disclosures J. Townsend, BRAHMS: Grant Investigator, Research grant.

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