Increasing worldwide development of antimicrobial resistance and the association of
resistance development and antibiotic overuse make it necessary to seek strategies for …

Background: Lower respiratory tract infections like acute bronchitis, exacerbated chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease and community-acquired pneumonia are often unnecessarily …

Background Lower respiratory tract infections are often treated with antibiotics without
evidence of clinically relevant bacterial disease. Serum calcitonin precursor concentrations …

Summary Background In February, 2017, the US Food and Drug Administration approved
the blood infection marker procalcitonin for guiding antibiotic therapy in patients with acute …

Context In previous smaller trials, a procalcitonin (PCT) algorithm reduced antibiotic use in
patients with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs). Objective To examine whether a PCT …

Although effective for bacterial lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs), antibiotic treatment
is often incorrectly prescribed for non-bacterial LRTIs. Procalcitonin has emerged as a …

Circulating procalcitonin (PCT) is a biomarker that can be used in diagnosing bacterial
infections. We performed a quantitative meta-analysis of available randomized controlled …

Background The effect of procalcitonin-guided use of antibiotics on treatment for suspected
lower respiratory tract infection is unclear. Methods In 14 US hospitals with high adherence …

Background. Procalcitonin algorithms may reduce antibiotic use for acute respiratory tract
infections (ARIs). We undertook an individual patient data meta-analysis to assess safety of …

Background Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTI) are among the most frequent reasons
for consultations in primary care. Although predominantly viral in origin, ARTI often lead to …