Case Study
Stopping Empirical Antibiotics in COVID-19 Patients
Neil Powell
Associate Director, Antimicrobial Stewardship, Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust
Consultant Antimicrobial Pharmacist
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Takeaway #1
PCT below 0.25 μg/L indicates low likelihood of bacterial infection.
Takeaway #2
The combination of a confirmed COVID-19 pneumonitis and low PCT supports decision to stop antibiotics.
Takeaway #3
Recent evidence showed that in COVID-19 patients with no evidence of bacterial infection, unnecessary antibiotics might prove harmful to the patient.1
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*NEWS or National Early Warning Score is a scoring system based on 6 common physiological measurements: respiration rate, oxygen saturation, temperature, blood pressure, heart rate and level of alertness. The score ranges from 0 to 20 points; a level of 5-6 means a patient can be very ill and requires regular monitoring and urgent review.
- Liu et al. International Immunopharmacology 90 (2021): 107157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intimp.2020.107157
