Procalcitonin-guided antibiotic discontinuation in ventilator-associated pneumonia: a prospective observational study

Procalcitonin (PCT), an important biomarker, can be used for the guidance of antibiotic therapy in respiratory infection. However, it has been a problem that some patients might need antibiotic therapy restart because of infection recurrence after antibiotic discontinuation. To date, there are very few literature on the study of risk factors accounting for infection recurrence. Purpose of this clinical study: 1) To study on antibiotic discontinuation in ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) under the guidance of PCT; 2) To evaluate the possible risk factors leading to infection recurrence and antibiotic reuse. Antibiotic discontinuation was performed when patients met the following criteria: (i) serum PCT