Procalcitonin-guided protocol use and impact on intensive care unit and antibiotic management: a pilot study

Abstract

Objective: To assess the procalcitonin protocol use and its impact on antibiotic therapy management of critically ill patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Method: An observational descriptive and retrospective study conducted in an adult ICU with 28 beds from the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS). Results: This present study observed a 78% (90/116) of PCT protocol adherence in the studied ICU. We observed a reduction in days of antibiotic treatment (DOT) going from 14 to 8,5 treatment-day duration (5.49 ± 2.2 days), impacting the overall antibiotic therapy cost for a decrease of 40.91%. Conclusion: The study revealed that PCT use was associated with substantial benefits, reducing hospital costs and days of exposure to antibiotic therapy applied to patients affected by infectious diseases in critical care settings.