The Role of Procalcitonin in Diagnosis of Sepsis and Antibiotic Stewardship: Opportunities and Challenges

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition associated with significant mortality and healthcare cost.  There is increasing evidence supporting the use procalcitonin as a biomarker for diagnosis of bacterial sepsis and as a guide to discontinue antibiotic therapy.  However, concerns about the efficacy, safety, and availability of procalcitonin exist.  A Q&A article in the September 2017 issue of Clinical Chemistry asked experts with different roles in this field to share their thoughts on the challenges of procalcitonin-guided diagnosis and antibiotic therapy.