Using procalcitonin to guide antimicrobial duration in sepsis: Asking the same questions will not bring different answers

Abstract

Severe sepsis is a major healthcare problem and the early initiation of antimicrobials is one of the few measures associated with improved outcomes. However, antibiotic overuse is an increasing problem in critical care. Of several potential biomarkers for antibiotic stewardship, procalcitonin represents the most widely studied and validated. In this commentary we address the current literature on the use of biomarkers to guide antimicrobial therapy in the critically ill and discuss its limitations and future directions. © 2014 Salluh et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.