Community Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) Respiratory Pneumonia
Conditions
Interventions
Control group:
Receive antibiotics according to usual practice.
Intervention group:
In the procalcitonin group, antibiotic treatment was based on serum procalcitonin concentrations as follows:
1. S
Sponsors
University Hospital Basel (Switzerland)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: The criterion for inclusion in the study was a suspected CAP as the main diagnosis. This was defined as presence of a new infiltrate on chest X-ray accompanied by one or several acquired respiratory symptoms and signs: 1. Cough 2. Sputum production 3. Dyspnoea 4. Fever over 38.0°C 5. Auscultatory findings of abnormal breath sounds and rales 6. Leukocytosis more than 10 x 10^9 cells/L or leukopenia less than 4 x 10^9 cells/L in the absence of a hospital stay within 14 days before admission
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: 1. Cystic fibrosis or active tuberculosis 2. Immunocompromised patients, i.e. patients infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection and a CD4 count below 200 3. Neutropenic patients with a neutrophil count less than 500 x 10^9/ml 4. Under chemotherapy with neutrophils 500 - 1000 x 10^9/ml with an expected decrease to values less than 500 x 10^9/ml 5. Immunosuppressive therapy after bone marrow or solid organ transplantation 6. Nosocomial pneumonia
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Total antibiotic use, recorded on days 4, 6, and 8 and at follow-up after 6 weeks. | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Measures of laboratory and clinical outcomes, recorded on days 4, 6, and 8 and at follow-up after 6 weeks. | — |
Countries
Switzerland
Outcome results
None listed