Optimizing Pediatric Procalcitonin Use
Speaker:
Charmaine Mutucumarana, MD, Tracey Polsky, MD PhD, Infectious Diseases Fellow, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Chief, Division of Laboratory Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine University of Pennsylvania
Contact Hours:
1.0
Date:
September 02, 2026 - September 30, 2027
Description:
This session showcases an example of deimplementation QI work on reducing procalcitonin ordering outside of guideline-recommended use in pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. We discuss this project from conception, including current state analysis and highlight root cause analysis done through both quantitative and qualitative methodology. We outline future steps and anticipated PDSA cycles for this work. We hope this session will be helpful for others at institutions who hope to engage in similar deimplementation work of procalcitonin and/or other inflammatory markers.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify guideline-recommended uses of procalcitonin in pediatric practice based on the published literature.
- Explain how quantitative and qualitative methods contribute to diagnostic stewardship quality-improvement initiatives focused on deimplementation.
- Describe the role of multidisciplinary collaboration in developing clinical decision support for diagnostic stewardship.