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A randomized, controlled trial of the impact of early and rapid diagnosis of viral infections in children brought to an emergency department with febrile respiratory tract illnesses.
- Source :
-
The Journal of pediatrics [J Pediatr] 2009 Jan; Vol. 154 (1), pp. 91-5. Date of Electronic Publication: 2008 Sep 23. - Publication Year :
- 2009
-
Abstract
- Objectives: Acute respiratory tract infections represent a significant burden on pediatric emergency departments (ED) and families. We hypothesized that early and rapid diagnosis of a viral infection alleviates the need for ancillary testing and antibiotic treatment.<br />Study Design: We conducted a randomized, controlled trial of children 3 to 36 months of age with febrile acute respiratory tract infections at a pediatric ED. Two hundred four subjects were randomly assigned to receive rapid respiratory viral testing on admission or a routine ED admission protocol. Outcome measures were: mean length of visits, rate of ancillary tests, and antibiotic prescription in the ED. A follow-up call was made to all study subjects to inquire about further healthcare visits, ancillary testing, and antibiotic prescription after ED discharge.<br />Results: We did not find a statistically significant difference in ED length of visits, rate of ancillary testing, or antibiotic prescription rate in the ED between the study groups. There was, however, a significant reduction in antibiotic prescription after ED discharge (in the group who had rapid viral testing RR = 0.36; 95% CI = 0.14, 0.95).<br />Conclusions: Rapid multi-viral testing in the ED did not significantly affect ED patient treatment but may reduce antibiotic prescription in the community after discharge from the ED, suggesting a novel strategy to alter community physician antibiotic prescription patterns.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1097-6833
- Volume :
- 154
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- The Journal of pediatrics
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 18814887
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2008.07.043