• Michael D Menchine, Tyler W Barrett, and David L Schriger.
• University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California, USA.
• Ann Emerg Med. 2008 Jul 1;52(1):59-60.

AbstractWHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ON THIS TOPIC: Procalcitonin is a biomarker that appears to correlate with bacterial infection. WHAT QUESTION THIS STUDY ADDRESSED: Does a procalcitonin level add prognostic information for pneumonia patients in conjunction with scoring systems such as the Pneumonia Severity Index or CURB-65? WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS TO OUR KNOWLEDGE: Among 1,651 patients with community-acquired pneumonia in 28 US emergency departments, procalcitonin levels did not add prognostic information for most pneumonia patients. Among higher-risk groups by Pneumonia Severity Index score, low procalcitonin level predicted lower mortality. HOW THIS MIGHT CHANGE CLINICAL PRACTICE: Clinicians should continue using validated prognostic scoring systems for pneumonia. Low procalcitonin level could be considered as a factor for selected patients who would otherwise be considered high risk to be treated in a lower acuity setting.

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