Duration of Antibiotic Therapy in Critically Ill Patients: C-reactive Protein-guided Therapy Versus Best Practice

Duration of Antibiotic Therapy in Critically Ill Patients: C-reactive Protein-guided Therapy Versus Best Practice

Duration of Antibiotic Therapy in Critically Ill Patients: C-reactive Protein-guided Therapy Versus Best Practice

The judicious use of antibiotics is one of the main measures to limit the emergence of multidrug-resistant pathogen related to excessive antimicrobial use. A recent study demonstrated that C-reactive protein (CRP) was as useful as procalcitonin (PCT) in reducing the time of antibiotic therapy in adult septic patients treated in the ICU setting. Therefore, the present study proposes to compare the time of use of antimicrobials, costs of hospitalization and clinical outcomes of interest among a group of antibiotic therapy guided by serum levels of CRP and a group of therapy based on the best practices of antibiotic therapy (Best Practice).

All adult patients (aged> 17 years), hospitalized at the ICU (total of 50 beds) of the Hospital das Clínicas - UFMG, with an assumed or proven infection, will be considered for inclusion. Patients who meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria will be allocated randomly into one of the following groups: 1) PCR group: antibiotic therapy will be discontinued according to serum CRP levels; 2) "Best Practice" group, length of antibiotic therapy based on the most recent guidelines in the medical literature, according to the focus and / or causative micro-organism. PCR assays shall be performed daily on serum obtained from blood collected for routine intensive care examinations up to 2 days after antibiotic withdrawal. In the PCR group, antibiotic suspension will be encouraged when levels of this marker are <35mg / L (if peak PCR below 100mg / L); or reduce 50% of the highest value (if PCR peak > 100mg / L), with a limit of seven days, if there is clinical improvement. Primary outcomes will be duration of antibiotic therapy and antibiotic-free live days corrected for 1000 days of hospitalization. Secondary outcomes will be costs, clinical cure rate, therapeutic failure, 28-day mortality, 90-day mortality, in-hospital mortality, length of hospital stay, nosocomial infection rate, recurrence of infection, and isolation of multidrug-resistant bacteria

In this group, the attending physicians will be instructed to follow the decision flowchart based on the CRP values. Antibiotic suspension will be encouraged when levels of this marker are <35mg/L (if peak PCR below 100mg/L); or reduce 50% of the highest value (if PCR peak > 100mg/L), with a limit of seven days, if there is clinical improvement. If a given patient has persistently elevated CRP levels (> 100 mg/l or fall less than 50% relative to the time of inclusion), the investigators will encourage attending physicians to maintain antibiotics and to perform a careful search for persistent infection. In case of doubts, if the patient is well clinically and without signs of active infection, the duration of antibiotic therapy should be the same as suggested for the Best Practice group.

Patients will be initially treated according to the current protocols used in the intensive care units. Decisions about interruption or continuation of treatment will be made according to pre-established time and also according to the clinical evolution of the patients. CRP levels will not be measured and will not be considered in the decision to discontinue antimicrobials. Any decision ultimately rests with the clinical assistants. Suggestions on the suspension of antibiotics will be provided by the researchers as follows: 7 full days for most infections 10 full days for pneumonia caused by Gram negative non-fermenting bacteria or Gram negative bacteria carbapenemase producing. 14 days of treatment for necrotizing pneumonia, confirmed by chest computed tomography.

PCR assays shall be performed daily on serum obtained from blood collected for routine intensive care examinations up to 2 days after antibiotic withdrawal. In the PCR group, antibiotic suspension will be encouraged when levels of this marker are <35mg / L (if peak PCR below 100mg / L); or reduce 50% of the highest value (if PCR peak> 100mg / L), with a limit of seven days, if there is clinical improvement.

Inclusion Criteria: Age ≥ 18 years Signed informed consent Assumed or proven infection Patient admitted to the unit participating in the study Exclusion Criteria: Patients with severe immunosuppression, such as severe neutropenia (<500 neut/mm3), transplantation of solid organs or cells hematopoietic, HIV infection with CD4+ < 200/mm3 Patients with multiple trauma, burns or surgery grid size in the last 5 days (Except surgery for focus control) Use of antibiotics supposedly or proven to be effective against the infectious process in for more than 48 hours. Patients undergoing palliative care. Patients with death expectancy for the next 24 hours. Patients with bacteremia caused by Staphylococcus aureus or Candida spp Patients with infections that are known to require prolonged antibiotic therapy

Borges I, Carneiro R, Bergo R, Martins L, Colosimo E, Oliveira C, Saturnino S, Andrade MV, Ravetti C, Nobre V; NIIMI - Nucleo Interdisciplinar de Investigacao em Medicina Intensiva. Duration of antibiotic therapy in critically ill patients: a randomized controlled trial of a clinical and C-reactive protein-based protocol versus an evidence-based best practice strategy without biomarkers. Crit Care. 2020 Jun 1;24(1):281. doi: 10.1186/s13054-020-02946-y.