Diagnostic microbiology and infectious disease
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Diagn. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. · Jul 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialClinical and economic impact of procalcitonin to shorten antimicrobial therapy in septic patients with proven bacterial infection in an intensive care setting.
Biomarkers such as procalcitonin (PCT) have been studied to guide duration of antibiotic therapy. We aimed to assess whether a decrease in PCT levels could be used to reduce the duration of antibiotic therapy in intensive care unit (ICU) patients with a proven infection without risking a worse outcome. ⋯ In the per-protocol analysis, the median antibiotic duration was 9 days in the PCT group (n = 20) versus 13 days in the non-PCT group (n = 31), P = 0.008. This study demonstrates that PCT can be a useful tool for limiting antimicrobial therapy in ICU patients with documented bacterial infection.
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Diagn. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. · Jul 2013
Evaluation of the APTIMA Combo 2 Assay using self-administered vaginal swabs for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
We report on the performance of the APTIMA Combo 2 assay for the detection of chlamydial infection and gonorrhea using self-administered vaginal specimens in specimen transport medium and specimen kept dry. The results are compared with the results using the Amplicor assay and the BD ProbeTec assay™.