In this prospective multicenter study on a cohort of ICU-patients with severe pneumonia, median initial PCT levels were elevated above a normal value of 0.3 ng/ml in all groups. Those patients with ventilator associated pneumonia had the lowest initial PCT values. The maximum PCT levels were observed a median of one to two days after enrolment. Patients with severe CAP had highest initial median PCT values (2.4 ng/ml). These patients also showed greater disease severity, organ dysfunction, and mortality than HAP and VAP. This is in concordance with data from Valencia et al., who reported a mortality rate of 37% in CAP patients requiring ICU therapy [27] . Median admission PCTs of 3.4 ng/ml have been observed in patients presenting with CAP in the emergency department [17] .