The overuse of antibiotics leads to a growing threat of worldwide antimicrobial resistance. Especially in nursing homes, antibiotic prescriptions are high. As easy-to-use diagnostic instruments for the differentiation from serious lower tract infections to less serious lower respiratory tract infections are lacking, doctors choose for the safest option and prescribe antibiotics.
The method ‘C reactive protein point-of-care testing (CRP POCT) can help with the distinction of the severity of the infection. The researchers from the University Network Geriatric Care (Dutch: Universitair Netwerk Ouderenzorg; UNO) Amsterdam investigated whether the CRP POCT method could help to reduce the prescription of antibiotics in nursing homes. They found that this method safely reduced antibiotic prescribing compared with usual care in nursing home residents with suspected lower respiratory tract infections.
Read the full article in The BMJ