Clinical Usefulness of Procalcitonin as Guideline of Antibiotic Treatment in Children with Respiratory Tract Infection

tively. Results : The mean participant age was 1.9±1.5 years. The cut-off value for serum PCT levels, which was derived from the receiver-operator characteristic curve, was 0.11 ng/mL. In 29 patients (33.0%) with low PCT levels (<0.11 ng/mL), antibiotic therapy showed no benefit for clinical and laboratory findings. However, in 59 patients (67.1%) with high PCT levels (≥0.11 ng/mL), hospitalization (P =0.005) and fever (P =0.054) exhibited a shorter duration, after antibiotic therapy. Conclusion : A single initial serum PCT levels (≥0.11 ng/mL) may be clinically useful to give a guideline for antibiotic treatment in children with lower respiratory tract infection and to reduce the unnecessary usage of antibiotics. [Pediatr Allergy Respir Dis(Korea) 2012;22:110-115]