• Robert A Balk, Sameer S Kadri, Zhun Cao, Scott B Robinson, Craig Lipkin, and Samuel A Bozzette.
• Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Rush Medical College and Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL. Electronic address: rbalk@rush.edu.
• Chest. 2017 Jan 1; 151 (1): 23-33.

BackgroundThere is a growing use of procalcitonin (PCT) to facilitate the diagnosis and management of severe sepsis. We investigated the impact of one to two PCT determinations on ICU day 1 on health-care utilization and cost in a large research database.MethodsA retrospective, propensity score-matched multivariable analysis was performed on the Premier Healthcare Database for patients admitted to the ICU with one to two PCT evaluations on day 1 of ICU admission vs patients who did not have PCT testing.ResultsA total of 33,569 PCT-managed patients were compared with 98,543 propensity score-matched non-PCT patients. In multivariable regression analysis, PCT utilization was associated with significantly decreased total length of stay (11.6 days [95% CI, 11.4 to 11.7] vs 12.7 days [95% CI, 12.6 to 12.8]; 95% CI for difference, 1 to 1.3; P < .001) and ICU length of stay (5.1 days [95% CI, 5.1 to 5.2] vs 5.3 days [95% CI, 5.3 to 5.4]; 95% CI for difference, 0.1 to 0.3; P < .03), and lower hospital costs ($30,454 [95% CI, 29,968 to 31,033] vs $33,213 [95% CI, 32,964 to 33,556); 95% CI for difference, 2,159 to 3,321; P < .001). There was significantly less total antibiotic exposure (16.2 days [95% CI, 16.1 to 16.5] vs 16.9 days [95% CI, 16.8 to 17.1]; 95% CI for difference, -0.9 to 0.4; P = .006) in PCT-managed patients. Patients in the PCT group were more likely to be discharged to home (44.1% [95% CI, 43.7 to 44.6] vs 41.3% [95% CI, 41 to 41.6]; 95% CI for difference, 2.3 to 3.3; P = .006). Mortality was not different in an analysis including the 96% of patients who had an independent measure of mortality risk available (19.1% [95% CI, 18.7 to 19.4] vs 19.1% [95% CI, 18.9 to 19.3]; 95% CI for difference, -0.5 to 0.4; P = .93).ConclusionsUse of PCT testing on the first day of ICU admission was associated with significantly lower hospital and ICU lengths of stay, as well as decreased total, ICU, and pharmacy cost of care. Further elucidation of clinical outcomes requires additional data.Copyright © 2016 American College of Chest Physicians. All rights reserved.

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