Procalcitonin-Guided Antibiotic Discontinuation

Procalcitonin (PCT) is a blood biomarker used in clinical practice to detect bacterial etiology in patients with sepsis or acute respiratory tract infection, to assess infection severity, and to monitor the effectiveness of antibiotic therapy. In February 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of the first PCT assay to guide antibiotic use in the context of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) and sepsis [1].