Desiree Wussler, Nikola Kozhuharov, Mucio Tavares Oliveira, Aline Bossa, Zaid Sabti, Albina Nowak, Karsten Murray, Jeanne du Fay de Lavallaz, Patrick Badertscher, Raphael Twerenbold, Samyut Shrestha, Dayana Flores, Thomas Nestelberger, Joan Walter, Jasper Boeddinghaus, Tobias Zimmermann, Luca Koechlin, Arnold von Eckardstein, Tobias Breidthardt, Christian Mueller
BACKGROUND: The clinical utility of procalcitonin in the diagnosis and management of pneumonia remains controversial. METHODS: We assessed the clinical utility of procalcitonin in 2 prospective studies: first, a multicenter diagnostic study in patients presenting to the emergency department with acute dyspnea to directly compare the diagnostic accuracy of procalcitonin with that of interleukin 6 and C-reactive protein (CRP) in the diagnosis of pneumonia; second, a randomized management study of procalcitonin guidance in patients with acute heart failure and suspected pneumonia...
December 2019: Clinical Chemistry