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  • Use of procalcitonin for an...
    Peters, Christina; Williams, Kelly; Un, Elena A; Little, Louisa; Saad, Abeer; Lendrum, Katherine; Thompson, Naomi; Weatherley, Nicholas D; Pegden, Amanda

    Clinical medicine (London, England), January 2021, 2021-Jan, 2021-01-00, 20210101, Letnik: 21, Številka: 1
    Journal Article

    Antibiotic stewardship during the COVID-19 pandemic is an important part of a comprehensive strategy to improve patient outcomes and reduce long-term adverse effects secondary to rising antibiotic resistance. This report describes a quality improvement project which incorporates the use of procalcitonin (PCT) testing to rationalise antibiotic prescribing in patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 at Chesterfield Royal Hospital. Data were collected from 118 patients with a total of 127 PCT levels checked over a period of 20 days. Each PCT level was correlated with the subsequent antibiotic outcome as well as the result of the COVID-19 PCR swab. Results indicate that antibiotics were either never started or were stopped within 48 hours in 72% of COVID-confirmed cases with a PCT less than 0.25 μg/L. Our findings suggest that procalcitonin testing, when used in combination with thorough clinical assessment, is a safe, simple and sustainable way of reducing antibiotic use in COVID-19.