The role of procalcitonin in reducing antibiotics across the surgical pathway

Sartelli, Massimo; Ansaloni, Luca; Bartoletti, Michele; Catena, Fausto; Cardi, Maurizio; Cortese, Francesco; Di Marzo, Francesco; Pea, Federico; Plebani, Mario; Rossolini, Gian Maria; Sganga, Gabriele; Viaggi, Bruno; Viale, Pierluigi

Procalcitonin (PCT) is widely considered as a highly sensitive biomarker of bacterial infection, offering general and emergency surgeons a key tool in the management of surgical infections. A multidisciplinary task force of experts met in Bologna, Italy, on April 4, 2019, to clarify the key issues in the use of PCT across the surgical pathway. The panelists presented the statements developed for each of the main questions regarding the use of PCT across the surgical pathway. An agreement on the statements was reached by the Delphi method, and this document reports the executive summary of the final recommendations approved by the expert panel.