Findings

What do systematic reviews say?

4 questions · 4 findings · 1 reviews

No studies found 0 · 0%GRADE not reported 0 · 0%Very low 0 · 0%Low 0 · 0%Moderate 2 · 50%High 2 · 50%

All‐cause mortality · antibiotic use in acute respiratory infections

Procalcitonin algorithm leads to lower mortality compared with standard care (high certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Procalcitonin to initiate or discontinue antibiotics in acute respiratory tract infections 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
OR 0.83 [0.7, 0.99]
26 studies · 6708 participants
High

Treatment failure Clinical assessment3 · antibiotic use in acute respiratory infections

Procalcitonin algorithm showed no clear difference in treatment failure Clinical assessment3 compared with standard care (moderate certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Procalcitonin to initiate or discontinue antibiotics in acute respiratory tract infections 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
OR 0.9 [0.8, 1.01]
26 studies · 6708 participants
Moderate

Adverse effects of antibiotics · antibiotic use in acute respiratory infections

Procalcitonin algorithm probably leads to lower antibiotic‐related side effects compared with standard care (moderate certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Procalcitonin to initiate or discontinue antibiotics in acute respiratory tract infections 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
OR 0.68 [0.57, 0.82]
6 studies · 3034 participants
Moderate

Duration of antibiotic therapy · antibiotic use in acute respiratory infections

1 finding from 1 review

Procalcitonin to initiate or discontinue antibiotics in acute respiratory tract infections 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
no estimate extracted
26 studies · 6708 participants
High