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:

* Severe sepsis or septic shock according to ACCP/SCCM criteria
* Onset of severe sepsis or septic shock \<24 h
* Age \>= 18 years
* Informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

* Pregnant or breast-feeding women
* Fertile female women without effective contraception
* Participation in interventional clinical trial within the last 30 days
* Current participation in any study
* Former participation in this trial
* Selenium intoxication
* No commitment to full patient support (i.e. DNR order)
* Patient's death is considered imminent due to coexisting disease
* Relationship of the patient to study team member (i.e. colleague, relative)
* Infection where guidelines recommend a longer duration of antimicrobial therapy (i.e. endocarditis, tuberculosis, malaria etc)
* Immunocompromised patients
C: 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
D: 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

Answer: D