The Use of Point-of-Care Tests and Multiplex PCR Tests in the Pediatric Emergency Department Reduces Antibiotic Prescription in Patients with Febrile Acute Respiratory Infections
Luca Pierantoni, Arianna Dondi, Liliana Gabrielli, Valentina Lasala, Laura Andreozzi, Laura Bruni, Fiorentina Guida, Eleonora Battelli, Giulia Piccirilli, Ilaria Corsini, Tiziana Lazzarotto, Marcello Lanari, Daniele Zama · 2025
Read The Use of Point-of-Care Tests and Multiplex PCR Tests in the Pediatric Emergency Department Reduces Antibiotic Prescription in Patients with Febrile Acute Respiratory Infections by Luca Pierantoni, Arianna Dondi, Liliana Gabrielli, Valentina Lasala, Laura Andreozzi, Laura Bruni, Fiorentina Guida, Eleonora Battelli, Giulia Piccirilli, Ilaria Corsini, Tiziana Lazzarotto, Marcello Lanari, Daniele Zama (2025) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-12735915.txt.
Description
Luca Pierantoni and co-authors ask whether faster bedside tests cut antibiotic use in children who come to an emergency department with fever and a chest infection. Telling virus from bacteria in such cases is hard, and wrong guesses feed antibiotic resistance. Their 2025 study compares two winter seasons at one Italian pediatric department, seven years apart.
The first season covered 2,181 cases in 2016-17, when only two rapid tests were on hand. The second covered 2,701 cases in 2023-24, after quick protein and flu tests plus a multi-virus PCR swab arrived. Antibiotic prescriptions fell by 28.4 percent, and use of broad-spectrum drugs fell too. Blood tests and chest X-rays also dropped. The authors link the cuts to the new tests and note the bonus of less stress and radiation for children.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Luca Pierantoni, Arianna Dondi, Liliana Gabrielli, Valentina Lasala, Laura Andreozzi, Laura Bruni, Fiorentina Guida, Eleonora Battelli, Giulia Piccirilli, Ilaria Corsini, Tiziana Lazzarotto, Marcello Lanari, Daniele Zama |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2025 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 31 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |