Procalcitonin: seeking a niche
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Correspondence: Anthony McLean mcleana@med.usyd.edu.au
Department Intensive Care Medicine, Sydney Medical School – Nepean, Penrith, Sydney NSW 2750, Australia
Critical Care 2009, 13:149 doi:10.1186/cc7799
Published: 21 May 2009Abstract
For over a decade there has been intense interest given to the role of procalcitonin in the diagnosis and management of sepsis in critically ill patients. Early opinions strongly supported the diagnostic role but data accumulating from numerous subsequent studies are less supportive, even when used in very selective settings. Although there remains sufficient reason to support the use of procalcitonin in guiding antibiotic therapy or perhaps providing prognostic information, it may be time to focus our efforts on the early diagnosis of sepsis in the critically care setting on alternative, more promising methods.