Biomarkers: what is their benefit in the identification of infection, severity assessment, and management of community-acquired pneumonia?

Biomarkers have been proposed as tools that can guide the management of patients with community-acquired pneumonia, providing information that supplements the usually available clinical data. Among the available biomarkers, procalcitonin has been studied extensively and seems promising for several purposes. The use of biomarkers needs further study, to validate their utility in daily practice, especially given the limitations of the current tools for identifying the need for antibiotic therapy in patients with influenza and secondary bacterial pneumonia, in patients with aspiration syndromes, and in those infected with atypical pathogens.