Retrospective case study of respiratory viral panel PCR testing in primary care.
retrospective_cohort · Level III
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38482294.
- Also identified by DOI 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_446_23 and PMC identifier 10931873.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC-SA.
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Abstract
Respiratory illnesses are some of the most common reasons for visits to primary and urgent care yet their treatment is rarely guided by laboratory testing. A retrospective case review was performed on the use of an reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) respiratory viral panel (RVP) in a primary-care setting to assess its impact, particularly on antibiotic prescribing. Routine sick visits where an RVP was used were reviewed to compare presentations and outcomes. In this small study, positive RVP tests help reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions by nearly one-third. Although currently expensive, RVPs are a valuable tool for the assessment of respiratory illnesses distinguishing between those that require antibiotics and those with potential public health implications, such as COVID-19.