Procalcitonin algorithm in critically ill adults with undifferentiated infection or suspected sepsis. A randomized controlled trial.

Rationale: The role of procalcitonin (PCT), a widely used sepsis biomarker, in critically ill patients with sepsis is undetermined.

Objectives: To investigate the effect of a low PCT cut-off on antibiotic prescription and to describe the relationships between PCT plasma concentration and sepsis severity and mortality.

Methods: This was a multicenter (11 Australian intensive care units [ICUs]), prospective, single-blind, randomized controlled trial involving 400 patients with suspected bacterial infection/sepsis and expected to receive antibiotics and stay in ICU longer than 24 hours.