• Langenbecks Arch Surg · Jun 2006

    Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study

    Pre-emptive antibiotic treatment vs 'standard' treatment in patients with elevated serum procalcitonin levels after elective colorectal surgery: a prospective randomised pilot study.

    • Ansgar Michael Chromik, Frank Endter, Waldemar Uhl, Arnulf Thiede, Hans Bernd Reith, and Ulrich Mittelkötter.
    • Department of General Surgery, University Hospital of Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
    • Langenbecks Arch Surg. 2006 Jun 1;391(3):187-94.

    BackgroundProcalcitonin (PCT) is regarded as a specific indicator of bacterial infection. Infectious complications in patients after colorectal surgery are a common cause of morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate (a) whether PCT could serve as a negative predictive marker for postoperative complications and (b) whether, in patients with elevated PCT levels, a pre-emptive treatment with the third-generation cephalosporin ceftriaxone is superior to an antibiotic treatment starting later on the appearance of clinical signs and symptoms of infection.Patients And MethodsBy screening 250 patients with colorectal surgery, we identified 20 patients with PCT serum levels more than 1.5 ng/ml on at least 2 of the first 3 postoperative days. The remaining 230 patients were followed-up for the occurrence of infectious complications. The 20 patients with elevated PCT were included in a prospective randomised pilot study comparing pre-emptive antibiotic treatment with ceftriaxone vs standard treatment.ResultsThe negative predictive value of PCT for systemic infectious complications was 98.3%. In patients receiving pre-emptive antibiotic treatment (ceftriaxone), both the incidence and the severity of postoperative systemic infections were significantly lower compared to those in a control group (Pearson's chi(2) test; p=0.001 and p=0.007, respectively). Major differences were also observed with respect to duration of antibiotic treatment and length of hospital stay.ConclusionsPCT is an early marker for systemic infectious complications after colorectal surgery with a high negative predictive value. A significant reduction in the rate of postoperative infections in patients with elevated PCT serum concentrations was achieved by means of pre-emptive antibiotic treatment.

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