Do Biomarkers Predict Need for Admission in Low-Risk Patients with Community-Acquired Pneumonia?

Can biomarkers help determine which patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) can safely be managed as outpatients? In a prospective, observational study, researchers assessed whether C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), and midregional pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) help predict need for admission in 549 immunocompetent adult patients with mild CAP who presented to 12 emergency departments in France.

On the basis of the consensus decision of three independent infectious disease and emergency medicine specialists in addition to data on patient outcomes at 28 days, the researchers determined that 310 patients (56%) required admission. ANP was a significantly better predictor of the need for admission than CRP or PCT (ar…