Capsule Commentary on Michaelidis et al., Cost-Effectiveness of Procalcitonin-Guided Antibiotic Therapy for Outpatient Management of Acute Respiratory Tract Infections in Adults

Excerpt

Antibiotic overuse in ambulatory settings is a major public health concern. Acute respiratory infections are often treated empirically and present challenges to judicious antimicrobial use. Procalcitonin has emerged as a biomarker to discriminate between viral and bacterial respiratory infections, and may add value to standard decision guides.1 Acute respiratory infections are costly, and innovations minimizing drug or utilization costs would hold interest, particularly if cost-effective. One study2 examining antibiotic decision making using procalcitonin algorithms in the ICU found procalcitonin cost-effective when daily antibiotics cost more than $149(CAN), while another reports procalcitonin protocols costing more than usual care, with physician non-adherence to procalcitonin algorithms influencing cost-effectiveness in community acquired pneumonia.3 …