A Need for More Education
Today, Dr. Broyles estimates, around six in 10 hospitals in the United States have PCT, “but probably 99 percent don't use it to its full capacity" because most physicians don't understand its potential applications. He recently published a study showing how in his own organization they used PCT to help reduce antibiotic use by 47 percent. “We reduced 30-day readmissions by half, we reduced mortality by half, and we reduced Clostridium difficile infections by 64 percent." One clinician at the hospital who saw the results couldn't believe they were true, Dr. Broyles recalls. “It was, 'Wait a minute, this doesn't make sense. Half as many antibiotics and yet our outcomes are almost twice as good? How can that be?'"
His answer, Dr. Broyles says, was the same one he gives any clinician who thinks antibiotics are usually the best choice. “The key is providing the information—the education." His recommendation to others who are struggling to convince their own clinical teams to embrace PCT? Point them to the current literature, which now includes numerous studies on procalcitonin and antibiotics, and persuade them to join your antibiotic stewardship (ABS) committee and get to know the people working in the laboratory. Demonstrate to those clinicians how PCT works, Dr. Broyles says, and show them how it can help your organization achieve better outcomes, and it won't take long to convince them to change.