Observational studyScandinavian journal of primary health care2015
What a difference a CRP makes. A prospective observational study on how point-of-care C-reactive protein testing influences antibiotic prescription for respiratory tract infections in Swedish primary health care.
Observational study in Scandinavian journal of primary health care, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impact of point-of-care C reactive protein in ambulatory care: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2019Pooled it
- Trial
- 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
- Barriers and Enablers to Optimal Antimicrobial Use in Respiratory Tract Infections.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Article
- Article
- Diagnoses Based on C-Reactive Protein Point-of-Care Tests.Biosensors · 2022Review
- Antibiotic use in Australian and Swedish primary care: a cross-country comparison.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2022Article
- Factors associated with C-reactive protein testing when prescribing antibiotics in general practice: a register-based study.BMC primary care · 2022Article
- Article
- Latvian Primary Care Management of Children with Acute Infections: Antibiotic-Prescribing Habits and Diagnostic Process Prior to Treatment.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2021Article
- C-reactive protein influences the doctor's degree of suspicion of pneumonia in primary care: a prospective observational study.The European journal of general practice · 2020Observational
- A study of guidelines for respiratory tract infections and their references from Swedish GPs: a qualitative analysis.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2020Article
- Change in the use of diagnostic tests in the management of lower respiratory tract infections: a register-based study in primary care.BJGP open · 2020Article
- Out-of-hours antibiotic prescription after screening with C reactive protein: a randomised controlled study.BMJ open · 2016Observational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo explore how C-reactive protein (CRP) tests serve to support physicians in decisions concerning antibiotic prescription to patients with respiratory tract infections (RTI).
designProspective observational study.
settingPrimary health care centres in western Sweden. SUBJECTS: Physicians in primary health care. Patients with acute RTI.
main outcome measuresPhysician willingness to measure CRP, their ability to estimate CRP, and changes in decision-making concerning antibiotic treatment based on error estimate and the physician's opinion of whether CRP measurement was crucial.
resultsData from 340 consultations were gathered. CRP testing was found to be crucial in 130 cases. In 86% of visits decisions regarding antibiotic prescription were unchanged. Physicians considering CRP crucial and physicians making an error estimate of CRP altered their decisions concerning antibiotic prescription after CRP testing more often than those who considered CRP unnecessary, and those making a more accurate estimate. Physicians changed their decision on antibiotic prescription in 49 cases. In the majority of these 49 cases physicians underestimated CRP levels, and the majority of changes were from "no" to "yes" as to whether to prescribe antibiotics.
conclusionCRP is an important factor in the decision on whether to prescribe antibiotics for RTIs. Error estimates of CRP and willingness to measure CRP are important factors leading to physicians changing decisions on antibiotic treatment. Key points There is a generally low antibiotic prescription rate and a high frequency of C-reactive protein (CRP) testing for respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in Sweden. CRP testing was considered essential to further management in 38% of cases. In 86% of visits decisions concerning antibiotic prescription were unchanged. The strongest predictors for revised decisions on antibiotic treatment were error estimates of CRP and the physician's opinion that CRP measurement was crucial.
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