Procalcitonin-guided antibiotic treatment of stroke-associated pneumonia after spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage:a randomized controlled trial / 国际脑血管病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the guiding value of serum procalcitonin (PCT) level in antibiotic treatment of stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP) after spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage. Methods A total of 120 patients with SAP after acute cerebral hemorrhage were enroled and were randomly divided into either a conventional treatment group ( n=59) or a PCT guided group ( n=61). In accordance w ith the guidelines for the use of antibiotics in China, the conventional treatment group w as treated w ith antibiotics and the course of antibiotics w as determined by the treating physician. The serum PCT of the PCT group w as monitored continuously after using antibiotics for 5 days. When PCT w as 2 w as poor outcome. They were folowed up for 6 months after discharge. A Kaplan-Meier survive curve was use to compare the survival rate of both groups. Results The course of antibiotics ( 8.95 ±2.73 d vs.13.26 ± 4.11 d;t=6.407, P<0.001) and the length of hospitalization ( 15.64 ±2.63 d vs.18.36 ±4.27 d; t=3.967, P<0.001) of the PCT group w ere significantly shorter than those of the conventional treatment group. There w ere no significant differences in the proportions of 30 d mortality ( 9.8%vs.10.1%; χ2 =0.003, P=0.951) and 90 d good outcome ( 60.6%vs.59.3%; χ2 =0.022, P=0.881) betw een the PCT guided group and the conventional treatment group. At the end of the 6-month folow-up period, a total of 13 patients (12.0%) died, including 6 in the conventional treatment group and 7 in the PCT group. The Kaplan-Meier analysis show ed that there w as no significant difference in the 6-month survival rate betw een the 2 groups (χ2 = 0.070, P= 0.791 ). Conclusions Monitoring the serum PCT level for guiding antibiotic treatment of SAP after spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage is safe, and it may shorten the course of antibiotics and reduce the length of hospitalization.