Description Module
The Description Module contains narrative descriptions of the clinical trial, including a brief summary and detailed description. These descriptions provide important information about the study's purpose, methodology, and key details in language accessible to both researchers and the general public.
Description Module path is as follows:
Study -> Protocol Section -> Description Module
Description Module
Ignite Creation Date:
2025-12-25 @ 12:38 AM
Ignite Modification Date:
2025-12-25 @ 12:38 AM
NCT ID:
NCT00472667
Brief Summary:
The study is a prospective, randomized, controlled intervention trial conducted in 9 centers, comparing a conventional strategy versus a PCT-guided strategy to start or to discontinue antibiotics, in patients with suspected community or hospital- acquired infection.
Detailed Description:
Clinical and laboratory signs are neither specific nor sensitive for diagnosis of sepsis in critically-ill patients. Because delaying antimicrobial therapy may be deleterious, broad-spectrum antibiotics are widely used in ICU -patients, even when they are not needed. In addition, only few well-designed studies concerning the duration of antibiotic treatment have been so far published. Consequently, many patients received antibiotics during the ICU stay. Many studies have shown that exposure to antibiotics, the so called "selection pressure" is an independent risk factor for acquisition of resistance in individual patients. Therefore, reducing antibiotic use is probably necessary to control antibiotic resistance. Many clinical studies have shown that procalcitonin (PCT) is able to distinguish the inflammatory response to infection from other types of inflammation and to distinguish bacterial from viral infections. Recent studies have shown that PCT guidance substantially and safely reduced antibiotic overuse in patients with lower respiratory tract infections. We aimed to evaluate the role of PCT in reducing the use of antibiotics in ICU adult patients. The study is a prospective, randomized, controlled intervention trial conducted in 9 centers, comparing a conventional strategy versus a PCT-guided strategy to start or to discontinue antibiotics, in patients with suspected community or hospital- acquired infection.
Study:
NCT00472667
Study Brief:
Protocol Section:
NCT00472667