Procalcitonin in the ED: Advancing Diagnosis in Sepsis

Thursday, August 5, 4:00pm – 5:00pm EST, Webinar

Sepsis is a leading killer in the U.S., striking more than 750,000 patients each year. New therapies and guidelines over the past decade have resulted in significant changes in the treatment of patients with Sepsis. Despite these developments, Sepsis remains one of the leading causes of death in U.S. hospitals. The often non-specific nature of symptoms can confound an early diagnosis and may delay critical intervention. Procalcitonin (PCT) may aid in early identification and differentiation of underlying cause of this disease. PCT is a sensitive biomarker that can help clinicians make more efficient diagnosis and treatment decisions in the risk assessment of patients with suspected Sepsis. This teleconference discusses these challenges for clinicians, the performance characteristics of PCT as a relevant biomarker, interpretation of values, and current PCT utilization in the hospital.

Objectives:
After this presentation, attendees will be able to:
Identify the challenges associated with early diagnosis and differential diagnosis in Sepsis.
Utilize the performance characteristics of PCT as a marker of relevant bacterial infections and Sepsis.
Apply PCT in identifying patients with Sepsis.
Interpret PCT values and understand current PCT utilization in the hospital.
Speaker:

Sean-Xavier Neath
MD, PhD
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine
Department of Emergency Medicine
University of California, San Diego

Dr. Sean-Xavier Neath is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of California, San Diego Medical Center. He is involved with medical student and resident teaching for multiple departments in the hospital and serves on a panel of regional hospitals which aim to improve patient safety with a particular focus on Sepsis. He has lectured internationally to diverse groups of physicians and scientists on biomarkers and during 2003-2004 served as Medical Director for Biosite, a San Diego-based medical diagnostics biotechnology company.