Procalcitonin-guided antibiotic therapy in aspiration pneumonia and an assessment of the continuation of oral intake

Abstract Background Procalcitonin-guided antibiotic therapy for community-acquired pneumonia is effective and safe. However, the usefulness of procalcitonin for aspiration pneumonia and its nutrition-related outcomes are unknown. Methods We conducted a noninferiority randomized controlled study in patients with aspiration pneumonia who were admitted to our hospital between September 2010 and January 2012. We randomly assigned 105 patients to groups with different durations of antibiotic therapy based on the procalcitonin levels upon admission (procalcitonin group) or according to the standard guidelines (control group). The primary endpoints were relapse of aspiration pneumonia and death within 30 days, with a predefined noninferiority boundary of 10%. Secondary endpoints included duration of antibiotic exposure. Furthermore, we conducted a retrospective analysis of the prognostic factors that determined continuation of oral nutritional intake, relapse of pneumonia, and in-hospital death. Results The rate of relapse and death within 30 days were similar in the procalcitonin and control groups (25% versus 37.5%; difference, −12.5%; 95% confidence interval, −30.9% to 5.9%). Procalcitonin-guided antibiotic therapy significantly shortened the median duration of antibiotic exposure (5 versus 8 days; p p =0.54). A multivariable analysis showed a significant association between the continuation of oral nutritional intake and the body mass index upon admission. Conclusions Procalcitonin-guided antibiotic therapy for aspiration pneumonia can shorten the duration of antibiotic exposure, but it does not increase the continuation of oral intake (UMIN000004800).