The overuse of antibiotics is an enormous problem facing the healthcare system both in the United States and across the world. The investigators plan to test the hypothesis that using procalcitonin levels (blood test) to guide the length of antibiotic therapy in patients with complicated intra-abdominal infections leads to shorter antibiotic treatment courses.
Who can participate
Age range18 Years
SexALL
See this in plain English?
AI-rewrites the medical criteria so a patient or caregiver can understand them. Always confirm with the trial site.
Inclusion Criteria:
* ≥ 18 years old
* Ability to give consent in English or Spanish
* Imaging proven intra-abdominal infection (CT, US, and/or MRI)
Exclusion Criteria:
* Unable to give informed consent
* Patients enrolled in another trial
* Those having surgery for source control
* Patients with anastomotic leak
* Unable or unwilling to return or be contacted for clinical follow-up visits
* Currently incarcerated in a detention facility or in police custody
* Conditions with altered immune response or at risk for bacterial seeding
* Immunodeficiency (e.g., absolute neutrophil count \<500/mm3, chronic immunosuppressive drugs, active chemotherapy or plans for chemotherapy in the following 30 days, or known AIDS \[CD4 count \<200 or AIDS-defining illness within the last year\] assessed by patient history)
* Uncompensated liver failure
* Taking medication to treat active inflammatory bowel disease
* Malignancy, not in remission (ongoing chemotherapy patients excluded)
* Pregnant or expectation of becoming pregnant in the 30 days following baseline/screening
* Expected concurrent hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, or treatments using indwelling venous catheters
* Recent (within 90 days) placement of surgical implant (e.g., pacemaker, joint prosthesis, mechanical valve)
* Indwelling Left Ventricular Assist Device
* Patients with another infection (e.g., pneumonia, urinary tract infection) that requires treatment with another antibiotic