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CRP point of care (POC) testing in respiratory tract infections resulted in major reduction of antibiotic prescribing in nursing homes.
The first results of the UPCARE study (Using Point-of-care C-reactive protein to Guide Antibiotic Prescribing for Respiratory Tract Infections in Elderly Nursing Home Residents) are now
published.
The CRP measurements were performed using QuikRead go CRP. In nursing homes, antibiotic use is relatively high because of the frailty of residents and the high risk for serious outcomes of infections. In addition, diagnostic resources are usually limited making differentiation of self-limiting and serious infections difficult. This diagnostic uncertainty easily drives for antibiotic overprescribing in cases when antibiotics are not necessary.
CRP POC testing in nursing homes resulted in a 29% reduction of antibiotic prescribing at the initial consultation compared to usual care. In addition, an important finding was that full recovery stayed high, and hospitalisations or mortality did not increase. Also, patients in the CRP POC group had fever changes in antibiotic treatment such as cessations, switch to another antibiotic, or prolongation compared to the control group.
These results suggest that CRP POC testing aids in fighting against antimicrobial resistance by reducing unnecessary antibiotic use in nursing homes.
