Published ahead of print on December 20, 2007, doi:10.1164/rccm.200708-1238OC Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., Volume 177, Number 5, March 2008, 498-505 A more recent version of this article appeared on March 1, 2008
Submitted on August 22, 2007 Use of Procalcitonin to Shorten Antibiotic Treatment Duration in Septic Patients. A Randomized TrialVandack Nobre1,1 Intensive Care, University Hospitals of Geneva, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, 2 Infection Control Program, University Hospitals of Geneva, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, 3 Central Chemistry Laboratory, University Hospitals, University Hospitals of Geneva, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, 4 Microbiology Laboratory, University Hospitals of Geneva, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland * To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jerome.pugin{at}medecine.unige.ch.
Rationale and objective: To test the hypothesis that an algorithm based on serial measurements of procalcitonin (PCT) allows to reduce the duration of antibiotic therapy compared with empirical rules, and does not result in more adverse outcomes in patients with severe sepsis and septic shock.
Methods: In patients randomly assigned to the intervention group, antibiotics were stopped when PCT levels had decreased Key words: procalcitonin, sepsis, intensive care, antibiotics, controlled trial
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90% from the initial value - if clinicians agreed to - but not before day 3 (if baseline PCT levels < 1µg/L) or day 5 (if baseline PCT levels 
