Procalcitonin, or PCT, screening on the first day of a patient intensive care unit's admission appears to be a promising diagnostic tool for identifying sepsis, according to a new study in CHEST.
Researchers examined 15.04 million patient cases, of whom 730,088 had a potential sepsis, systemic inflammatory response syndrome, septicemia or shock-related diagnosis on admission or discharge. All the patients were admitted to the ICU and divided into two groups by whether they had received PCT screening on their first day in the ICU or not.
The study shows that PCT-guided care on the first day in the ICU was associated with a number of positive outcomes, including those patients averaging 1.2 fewer hospital days than patients who were not screened and saving an average of $2,759 on their total hospital costs. Additionally, healthcare facilities were less likely to transfer PCT-screened patients to acute care, skilled nursing, intermediate care or long-term care facilities.
"This study is important because it validates the ability of PCT testing to favorably impact outcomes of critically ill patients when used according to the FDA cleared guideline," said Robert A. Balk, MD, the J. Bailey Carter, MD, Professor of Medicine and pulmonary and critical care medicine division director at Rush Medical College and Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.