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Procalcitonin-Guided Antibiotic Therapy

• CME Information
• Faculty Biographies & Disclosures
• References
• Course Presentations
• CME Posttest

CME Information

Course Overview Educational Objectives Target Audience Method of Participation

Accreditation Statement Term of Approval Peer Review Program Director

Disclaimer Disclosure Acknowledgement of Support

Course Overview

The early initiation and appropriate use of antibiotics are clinically relevant in managing critically ill adult and pediatric patients with bacterial infections such as sepsis, in postoperative patients with suspected infections, and patients with bacterial upper and lower respiratory tract infections in the ambulatory care or hospital setting. A key challenge associated with antibiotic therapy is that the overuse and misuse of antibiotics can result in adverse effects and antibiotic resistance. However, the duration of antibiotic therapy that is appropriate for these patient populations is often undefined, and clinical features are of limited help in guiding discontinuation of therapy.

Earlier studies have investigated the potential roles of the serum biomarker procalcitonin in diagnosing local and systemic infections, differentiating bacterial and fungal infections from viral syndromes or noninfectious conditions, and in guiding antibiotic therapy. However, its clinical role in diagnosing and managing patients with suspected infections remains unclear.

This CME activity covers the systematic review of the current clinical literature, conducted by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Evidence-based Practice Center, to evaluate the benefits and/or harms of using procalcitonin to guide antibiotic therapy in critically-ill adult or pediatric patients with suspected sepsis or other serious bacterial infections, and in adults or children with upper and lower respiratory tract bacterial infections.

Educational Objectives

At the conclusion of this activity, the participant should be able to:

• Summarize the evidence on the benefits and/or harms of using procalcitonin as a biomarker to guide antibiotic therapy in critically ill adult or pediatric patients with suspected bacterial infections.
• Summarize the evidence on the benefits and/ or harms of using procalcitonin as a biomarker to guide antibiotic therapy in patients with acute upper or lower respiratory tract infections in the ambulatory care or hospital setting.
• Identify the limitations and gaps in the current evidence regarding the use of procalcitonin as a biomarker to guide antibiotic therapy.

Target Audience

This CME activity is designed to meet the educational needs of emergency medicine physicians, critical care specialists, pediatric critical care specialists, and primary care physicians.

Method of Participation

This activity is in PowerPoint file format and is accompanied by talking points and references linked to PubMed abstracts.

To receive a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ you should:

• View the presentations in this enduring material.
• Complete the posttest (you must answer 8 out of 10 questions correctly).
• Complete and submit the CME registration and evaluation forms.

The estimated time to complete this activity, including review of the materials, is 1.0 hour(s).

Hardware/software requirements: Activities should be run with recent versions of common browsers, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Google Chrome.

If you have questions about the participation process, please e-mail the Office of Continuing Medical Education, cme@bcm.edu or phone 713.798.8237.

Accreditation/Credit Designation

Baylor College of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Baylor College of Medicine designates this enduring material activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.    

Term of Approval

October 2012 through October 2015. Original release date: October 2012

Peer Review

In August 2012, this continuing medical education online enduring material was reviewed by Ingrid L. Roig, MD, MS, Alabama Center for Infectious Disease, Huntsville Hospital, Huntsville, Alabama. To ensure the continued scientific relevance of this enduring material, its content will be reviewed again in October 2015.

Disclosures: Nothing to disclose.

Program Director

Michael Fordis, MD
Sr. Associate Dean
Director, Center for Collaborative and Interactive Technologies
Director, John M. Eisenberg Center for Clinical Decisions and Communications Science
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas

Disclosures: Nothing to disclose.

Disclaimer

This CME activity is designed for use by healthcare professionals for educational purposes only. Information and opinion offered by the contributors represent their viewpoints. Conclusions drawn by the participant should be derived from careful consideration of all available scientific information. Prescription information and use of medical devices should be undertaken only after confirmation of information by consulting the FDA-approved uses and information.

Baylor College of Medicine makes every effort to have accurate information presented, no warranty, expressed or implied, is offered. The participant should use his/her clinical judgment, knowledge, experience, and diagnostic decision-making before applying any information, whether provided here or by others, for any professional use.

Links are provided to other Internet sites solely for the convenience of users. Once you link to another site, you are subject to the site's terms and conditions of use including copyright and licensing restrictions.

Disclosure

The Office of Continuing Medical Education (OCME) makes every effort to develop CME activities that are scientifically based, accurate, current, and objectively presented. In accordance with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education Standards for Commercial Support ^SM, Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) has implemented a mechanism requiring everyone in a position to control the content of an educational activity (e.g., directors, planning committee members, contributors, peer reviewers) to disclose any relevant financial relationships with commercial interests (drug/device companies) and manage/resolve any conflicts of interest prior to the activity. Individuals must disclose to participants the existence or non-existence of financial relationships: l) at the time of the activity or within 12 months prior; and 2) of their spouses/partners.

Baylor College of Medicine does not view the existence of interests or relationships with commercial entities as implying bias or decreasing the value of a presentation. It is up to the participants to determine whether the interests or relationships influence the presenter with regard to exposition or conclusions.

If at any time during this activity you feel that there has been commercial or promotional bias, please inform us by using the commercial bias comments box in the evaluation form. Please answer the questions about balance in the CME activity evaluation candidly.

The following individual(s) has/have reported no financial or other relationships with commercial entities whose products/services may relate to the educational content of this activity:

Geetha Achanta, MSc, PhD, Medical Writer: Nothing to disclose.
Michael Fordis, MD, Activity Director: Nothing to disclose.
Daniel M. Musher, MD, Contributor: Nothing to disclose.
David L. Pitrak, MD, Reviewer: Nothing to disclose.
Ingrid L. Roig, MD, MS, Peer Reviewer: Nothing dislose.

Some drugs/devices identified during this activity may have United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for specific purposes only or for use in restricted research settings. The FDA has stated that it is the responsibility of the individual physician to determine the FDA status of each drug or device that he/she wishes to use in clinical practice and to use the products in compliance with the applicable law.

Baylor College of Medicine requires that all contributors disclose an unlabeled use or investigational use (not yet approved for any purpose) of pharmaceutical and medical device products, and provide adequate scientific and clinical justification for such use. Physicians are urged to fully review all the available data on products or procedures before using them to treat patients.

Acknowledgement of Support

This CME activity is supported by a contract, HHSA290200810015C, from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

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