Blood test vs. clinical check: which safely cuts antibiotic use in pneumonia?
NCT ID NCT01723644
First seen Sep 14, 2026 · Last updated Sep 15, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
Researchers compare two approaches to managing antibiotics in adults hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia. One approach uses doctors' clinical reassessment to decide whether to continue, stop, or change antibiotics. The other uses blood levels of a marker called procalcitonin to guide those decisions. The goal is to see if either strategy can safely reduce how long patients take antibiotics.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- clinical reassessment and procalcitonin-guided antibiotic stewardship
- What this could lead to
- If the procalcitonin-guided approach works, doctors could safely shorten antibiotic courses for pneumonia, which may reduce side effects and slow the rise of antibiotic resistance.
- What could go wrong
- Shortening antibiotics based on a blood marker might not be safe for everyone, and some patients could need longer treatment. The trial may not show a clear difference between the two strategies.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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286 people
The number who actually took part.
- Start date
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Oct 2012
- Finished
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May 2017
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion criteria * written informed consent * age ≥ 18 years * admittance from the community or a nursing home with the main diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia justifying urgent antibiotherapy prescription, hospitalization for at least 6 hours after randomization and chest radiograph compatible with the diagnosis of CAP( Community acquired pneumonia ) Exclusion criteria * the inability to give written informed consent * hospitalization \>24 hours * aspiration pneumonia * nosocomial pneumonia * purulent pleurisy * exacerbation of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) * neutropenia (\<1G/L cells) * chronic infection with current antibiotherapy * antibiotherapy before admission for the current infection * immunosuppression (including prolonged corticotherapy (10 mg of prednisone per day for at least one month) * active neoplastic disease, organ transplant, pregnancy, HIV diagnosis with a CD4 count\<200 cells/μL.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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CHD Vendée
La Roche-sur-Yon, France
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CHU de Nantes
Nantes, France
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University Hospital of Angers
Angers, France
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University Hospital of Bichat Paris
Paris, France
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University Hospital of Bobigny Paris
Paris, France
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University Hospital of Brest
Brest, France
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University Hospital of Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand, France
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University Hospital of Grenoble
Grenoble, France
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University Hospital of Hôtel-Dieu Paris
Paris, France
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University Hospital of Lille
Lille, France
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University Hospital of Rennes
Rennes, France
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University Hospital of Saint Antoine Paris
Paris, France
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University Hospital of Strasbourg
Strasbourg, France
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University Hospital of Tours
Tours, France
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University hospital of Agen
Agen, France
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