Researchers from the University of Manchester, led by Professor Paul Dark, have discovered that a simple blood test can inform doctors when it is safe to stop antibiotics in patients recovering from sepsis.
The review includes 21 studies involving more than 6,000 patients who underwent blood tests for procalcitonin, a biomarker that becomes elevated during bacterial infections.
The analysis was undertaken by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded Applied Research Collaboration Greater Manchester (ARC-GM), the NIHR Manchester HealthTech Research Centre in Emergency and Acute Care and the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), in collaboration with The Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.
It revealed that health professionals who used procalcitonin tests as part of their decision making were able to safely stop antibiotics about two days earlier than when they were not used, without increasing risk of death.
The review findings suggest that more, higher-quality studies are still needed to determine whether another test, known as C-reactive protein is safe to use when deciding about antibiotic use in these patients.
The results are an important milestone in the care of sepsis, a life-threatening condition where the body’s response to infection damages its own tissues, leading to organ failure and death.
Treatment for the condition, one of the leading causes of death worldwide, usually involves 7-10 days of antibiotics.
BIVDA welcomes this development, which safeguards patient safety and outcomes, whilst tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
