American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Nov 2014
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyProcalcitonin Algorithm in Critically Ill Adults with Undifferentiated Infection or Suspected Sepsis: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
The role of procalcitonin (PCT), a widely used sepsis biomarker, in critically ill patients with sepsis is undetermined. ⋯ In critically ill adults with undifferentiated infections, a PCT algorithm including 0.1 ng/ml cut-off did not achieve 25% reduction in duration of antibiotic treatment. Clinical trial registered with http://www.anzctr.org.au (ACTRN12610000809033).
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Nov 2014
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyMulti-center Study Comparing Case Definitions Used to Identify Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
Clinical trials in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) usually require evidence of airflow obstruction and clinical risk factors. International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) diagnosis codes or patient-reported physician diagnoses are often used for epidemiologic studies and performance improvement programs. ⋯ Findings highlight concerns about the applicability of findings in clinical trials to patients meeting other case definitions for COPD.