Impact of Procalcitonin Testing on Antibiotic Use in Patients Hospitalized With Community-Acquired Pneumonia: A Multi-Hospital Cohort Study

Clinical Infectious Diseases 2026 Open access

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Authors: Abhishek Deshpande, Rebecca Schulte, Ramara E Walker, Andrea Pallotta, Ming Wang, Sameer S. Kadri, Sarah Haessler, Michael Klompas, Peter K. Lindenauer, Michael Rothberg
DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciag165
Cited by: 4
References: 17

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Procalcitonin (PCT) testing may guide antibiotic decisions in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), but real-world evidence of its impact on antibiotic prescribing in the era of shorter antibiotic courses remains limited. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of adults with CAP admitted to the wards of 12 hospitals between November 2022 and January 2025. Primary analyses included: (1) PCT testing rates at admission, (2) the association between PCT testing and duration of antibiotic therapy, and (3) among patients initiated on extended-spectrum antibiotics (ESAs), the relationship between PCT results and early de-escalation. We compared outcomes between PCT-tested and untested patients and between those with low (

Fields of Study & Subjects

Sepsis Diagnosis and Treatment Pneumonia and Respiratory Infections Nosocomial Infections in ICU

Publication details

Journal / source
Clinical Infectious Diseases
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Volume
83
Issue
2
Pages
e427–e438
Publication date
15 March 2026
Language
EN