Figure 5.

PCT-guided antibiotic therapy in CAP leads to reduced time on antibiotics and antibiotic use. (a) Percentage of patients receiving antibiotic therapy in the control group and the procalcitonin group on admission and during the course of the disease. (b) Cumulative frequency distribution curve for the time to discontinuation in patients for whom antibiotic therapy was prescribed. Patients in the procalcitonin group were compared with those in the control group. Reproduced with permission from Christ-Crain and coworkers [21]. AB, antibiotics.