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New Procalcitonin (PCT) study shows that testing reduces hospital costs and length of stay

 

A large cohort study published in the January issue of CHEST has examined whether procalcitonin (PCT) testing helps to more effectively manage sepsis care. The study found that the use of Procalcitonin (PCT) testing on day one of admission into the ICU lead to an average of 1.2 fewer hospital days than patients who were not screened and saved an average of $2,759 on their total hospital costs 1.

Sepsis carries a huge economic and human cost affecting over 27,000,000 people per year, and resulting in over 8,000,000 deaths per year 2. The USA spend over $20 billion dollars per year on sepsis care, so finding a way to screen and treat patients in the fastest, safest and most cost effective way is right at the top of many hospital agendas.

The EKF Diagnostics Procalcitonin LiquiColor® Test is a marker for bacterial infection and sepsis and can be used as a quick ten minute test, in conjunction with other tests, to quickly assess initial severity of sepsis.  The test is CE marked and currently going through the FDA approval process.  It is an open-channel test that can provide a cost effective solution for many hospital labs.ProductStack 0009 PCT Reagent Group NoBkgdThe full study is available to purchase from the CHEST website.  You can read the extended abstract here.

References:

1) “Effect of Procalcitonin Testing on Healthcare Utilization and Costs in Critically Ill Patients in the United States,” by Robert A. Balk, MD; Sameer S. Kadri, MD, MS; Zhun Cao, PhD; Scott B. Robinson, MA, MPH; Craig Lipkin, MS; Samuel A. Bozzette, MD, PhD; DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2016.06.046, published in CHEST, Volume 151, Issue 1 (January 2017), by Elsevier.

2) http://www.world-sepsis-day.org/

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