Please select the eligibility criteria that correspond to the clinical trial below.
Title: Observation of the Initial Procalcitonin Values and the Clinical Course of Patients With Acute Respiratory Tract Infections at General Medical Practices in Greater Hannover
Brief Summary: Observation of the initial Procalcitonin values and the clinical course of consecutively included patients with Acute Respiratory Tract Infections at general medical practices in greater Hannover.


Options:
A: Inclusion Criteria:

1. Patients with clinically suspected or microbiologically confirmed bacterial sepsis
2. Informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Patients with microbiologically documented infections caused by the following microorganisms: Listeria spp, Legionella pneumophilia, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Staphylococcus aureus
2. Patients with fungal infections
3. Patients with severe infections due to viruses or parasites (e.g. hemorrhagic fever, malaria)
4. Patients with suspected or confirmed bacterial meningitis or endocarditis
5. Patients with localized, deep-seated abscesses (e.g. brain abscess) without systemic sepsis
6. Patients with chronic, localized infections (e.g. chronic osteomyelitis) without systemic sepsis
7. Neutropenic and other severely immuno-compromised patients (patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus and a CD4 count \< 200; patients on immuno-suppressive therapy after solid organ transplantation; patients with cystic fibrosis)
8. Withholding of life-support
9. Early discharge or death (\< 24 hours after admission)
10. Complete absence of antimicrobial treatment despite suspicion of sepsis
B: Inclusion Criteria:

* written informed consent
* all types of respiratory tract infection according to investigator´s diagnosis

Exclusion Criteria:

* pretreatment with antibiotics in the past 2 weeks
* portal hypertension
* Major surgeries or multiple trauma which require hospitalization, in previous 4 weeks
* Autoimmune disease and systemic diseases (lupus erythematodes, wegener´s disease)
* Peritoneal dialysis
* Acute treated or recently operated medullary c-cell-carcinoma, SCLC, carcinoid
* Other inflammatory diseases (e.g. urinary tract infection, pyelonephritis, pancreatitis
C: Inclusion Criteria:

* Patient hospitalised in the ICU
* Bacterial infection suspected
* At ICU admission the patient do not receive antibiotics or receive antibiotics for less than 24hours and an interval between admission and inclusion \< 12 hours
* During ICU stay, provided that the interval between the start of suspected infection and inclusion is \< 12hours
* Written inform consent from the patient or relatives. The consent may be obtained after the enrollment if the patient is not able to give consent and if there is no relatives

Exclusion Criteria:

* Age \< 18 years
* Pregnancy
* Patient expected to remain hospitalised in the ICU for less than 3 days
* Neutropenia
* Infection or presumed infection requiring prolonged antibiotic therapy (endocarditis,osteo-articular infection, mediastinitis, deep abscess, tuberculosis, pneumocystis pneumonia, toxoplasmosis).
* Simplified Acute Physiology Score II at ICU admission (calculated during the first 12h)
* Attending physician declining to use full life support.
D: Inclusion Criteria:

* 18 years or older
* Informed consent
* Respiratory tract infection based on the clinical judgement of the primary care physician

Exclusion Criteria:

* Antibiotic pretreatment in previous 14 days
* Portal hypertension
* Major surgeries or multiple trauma which require hospitalization, in previous 4 weeks
* Autoimmune disease and systemic diseases (lupus erythematodes, wegener´s disease)
* Peritoneal dialysis
* Acute treated or recently operated medullary c-cell-carcinoma, SCLC, carcinoid
* Other inflammatory diseases (e.g. urinary tract infection, pyelonephritis, pancreatitis

Answer: B