Role of procalcitonin in the critical surgical patient

Dr. Emilio Maseda. Surgical ICU, Hosp. Univ. La Paz, Madrid.

In this paper, Dr. Emilio Maseda explains how procalcitonin levels are related to mortality in surgical patients. In his experience, in surgical patients with secondary peritonitis, the use of a procalcitonin-based algorithm decreased the duration of antibiotic treatment by 50% without affecting mortality.