Blood bacteria assay
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Use of a procalcitonin-guided assay can substantially reduce unnecessary antibiotic use in patients with lower respiratory tract infections, according to a study in the Feb. 21 issue of The Lancet. The 243-patient trial found that by testing for the presence of procalcitonin, which is elevated in bacterial infections, physicians were able to prevent antibiotic use in 39 out of 100 patients with viral infections, which do not respond to antibiotics...