Trial reportBMC family practice2014
Usefulness of C-reactive protein testing in acute cough/respiratory tract infection: an open cluster-randomized clinical trial with C-reactive protein testing in the intervention group.
Trial report in BMC family practice, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01794819 (The Usefulness of Point-of-care-testing for C-reactive Protein in Lower Respiratory Tract Infection or Acute Cough), which is not on this map. Cited by 38 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The Usefulness of Point-of-care-testing for C-reactive Protein in Lower Respiratory Tract Infection or Acute Cough
Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 90 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review and meta-analysis on diagnostic accuracy of point-of-care C-reactive protein devices for acute respiratory tract infections.Infection · 2026Pooled it
- Rapid tests to inform triage and antibiotic prescribing decisions for adults presenting with suspected acute respiratory infection: a rapid evidence synthesis of clinical effectiveness and cost-utility studies.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2025Pooled it
- Improving healthcare professionals' interactions with patients to tackle antimicrobial resistance: a systematic review of interventions, barriers, and facilitators.Frontiers in public health · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Biomarkers as point-of-care tests to guide prescription of antibiotics in people with acute respiratory infections in primary care.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Impact of point-of-care C reactive protein in ambulatory care: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2019Pooled it
- Reduction of antibiotic prescriptions for acute respiratory tract infections in primary care: a systematic review.Implementation science : IS · 2018Pooled it
- Clinician-targeted interventions to influence antibiotic prescribing behaviour for acute respiratory infections in primary care: an overview of systematic reviews.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- The effects of communicating illness diagnostic and treatment information and C-reactive protein test results on people's antibiotic expectations.British journal of health psychology · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Effect of C reactive protein point-of-care testing on antibiotic prescribing for lower respiratory tract infections in nursing home residents: cluster randomised controlled trial.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2021Trial
- C-reactive protein point-of-care testing for safely reducing antibiotics for acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: the PACE RCT.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2020Trial
- Point-of-care CRP matters: normal CRP levels reduce immediate antibiotic prescribing for acutely ill children in primary care: a cluster randomized controlled trial.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2018Trial
- Point-of-care C-reactive protein testing to reduce inappropriate use of antibiotics for non-severe acute respiratory infections in Vietnamese primary health care: a randomised controlled trial.The Lancet. Global health · 2016Trial
- Implementation of C-Reactive Protein Point-of-Care Testing for Respiratory Tract Infections in Primary Care: A Systematic Review Using the RE-AIM Framework.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- ERS/ESCMID state-of-the-science statement on the role of rapid diagnostic tests for the diagnosis and management of community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections.The European respiratory journal · 2026Review
- Transforming Microbiological Diagnostics in Nosocomial Lower Respiratory Tract Infections: Innovations Shaping the Future.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Article
- The impact of C-reactive protein testing on treatment-seeking behavior and patients' attitudes toward their care in Myanmar and Thailand.Healthcare in low-resource settings · 2023Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPoint of care testing for C-reactive protein (CRP) has shown promise as a measure to reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescribing in respiratory tract infections (RTI), but its use in primary care is still controversial. We aimed to evaluate the effect of CRP testing on the prescription of antibiotics, referral for radiography, and the outcome of patients in general practice with acute cough/RTI.
methodsAn open-cluster randomized clinical trial was conducted, with CRP testing performed in the intervention group. Antibiotic prescribing and referral for radiography were the main outcome measures.
resultsA total of 179 patients were included: 101 in the intervention group and 78 in the control group. The two groups were similar in clinical characteristics. In the intervention group, the antibiotic prescribing rate was 37.6%, which was significantly lower than that in the control group (58.9%) (P=0.006). Referral for chest X-ray was also significantly lower in the intervention group (55.4%) than in the control group (75.6%) (P=0.004). The recovery rate, as recorded by the GPs, was 92.9% and 93.6% in the intervention and control groups, respectively.
conclusionThe study showed that CRP testing in patients with acute cough/RTI may reduce antibiotic prescribing and referral for radiography, probably without compromising recovery.
trial registrationThe trial was registered in the ClinicalTrials.gov Protocol Registration System (identification number: NCT01794819).
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.