Study Assesses New Test for Rapid Diagnosis of Respiratory Infections
A swab test that can diagnosis respiratory infections quickly was found to reduce the length of hospital stay and improve influenza detection and treatment, according to the results of a new study.
The rapid point-of-care testing (POCT) strategy, developed by researchers at the University of Southampton, can provide results within an hour after the test is administered. The test was designed to help combat antibiotic resistance, and works by processing samples immediately on a portable device.
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The researchers’ parallel-group, open-label, randomized controlled trial included 360 adult patients with acute respiratory illnesses assigned to POCT and 354 patients with acute respiratory illnesses assigned to routine care at the University Hospital Southamptom during the winters of 2015 and 2016.
For the primary outcome, researchers compared the proportion of patients prescribed antibiotics while in the hospital. The secondary outcomes included the duration of antibiotics prescribed, the proportion of patients who received single or brief courses of antibiotics, length of stay, antiviral use, isolation facility use, and safety.
Overall, antibiotics were administered to 301 of the 360 patients (84%) who received POCT and 294 of the 354 patients (83%) who received routine care. The mean duration of antibiotics did not differ between groups, with courses lasting 7.2 days for patients in the POTC group and 7.7 days in the control group.
However, 50 (17%) participants in the POCT group received single doses or a brief course of antibiotics compared with 26 (9%) participants in the routine care group. Length of stay differed between the groups as well, with patients who received POCT staying an average of 5.7 days compared with patients who received routine care, who stayed an average of 6.8 days.
Appropriate antiviral treatment of influenza was more common in patients in the POCT group compared with the routine care group (91% vs 65%).
“Routine use of molecular POCT for respiratory viruses did not reduce the proportion of patients treated with antibiotics. However, the primary outcome measure failed to capture differences in antibiotic use because many patients were started on antibiotics before the results of POCT could be made available,” the researchers concluded.1
“Tests like this, which enable tailored and personalized medicine, have a major role to play in the fight against antibiotic resistance.”2
—Melissa Weiss
Reference:
1) Brendish NJ, Malachira AK, Armstrong L, et al. Routine molecular point-of-care testing for respiratory viruses in adults presenting to hospital with acute respiratory illness (ResPOC): a pragmatic, open-label, randomised controlled trial [published online April 6, 2017]. Lancet Respir Med. dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(17)30120-0.
2) Researchers develop novel flu test to speed up respiratory treatment [press release]. Southampton, UK; University of Southamptom, April 5, 2017. southampton.ac.uk/news/2017/04/flu-swab-test.page.