ArticleBJGP open2022
Point-of-care testing, antibiotic prescribing, and prescribing confidence for respiratory tract infections in primary care: a prospective audit in 18 European countries.
Article in BJGP open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 52 citations in OpenAlex.
- Point-of-care biomarkers or laboratory-based tests to reduce antibiotic prescribing for COPD exacerbations: a literature review and meta-analysis in primary care.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Pooled it
- Point-of-care tests to manage acute respiratory tract infections in primary care: a systematic review and qualitative synthesis of healthcare professional and patient views.The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy · 2025Pooled it
- Factors contributing to the variation in antibiotic prescribing among primary health care physicians: a systematic review.BMC primary care · 2024Pooled it
- Improved diagnostic management of children with acute infections following the introduction of point-of-care C-reactive protein testing and general practitioner education in Latvia: aScandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Trial
- Is C-reactive protein the answer to antibiotics over-prescribing in primary care? A behavioural experiment in two European countries.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2026Article
- Point-of-care testing in community pharmacies to improve antimicrobial stewardship in respiratory infections: a scoping review of effectiveness, implementation and cost-effectiveness.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2026Review
- The diagnostic performance of point-of-care tests for serum amyloid A and C-reactive protein in lame sows.Acta veterinaria Scandinavica · 2026Article
- Evaluation of the implementation process of POC-CRP devices in managing adults with cough in general practice: insights from a focus group study.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2026Article
- Diagnostic equipment and point-of-care tests in Norwegian emergency primary healthcare clinics: a cross-sectional study.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2025Article
- Overview of Methods for Assessing Antimicrobial Use in Outpatient Settings in High-Income Countries: A Narrative Review.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- The Impact of Point-of-Care Testing for Group A Streptococcal Pharyngitis on Antibiotic Prescribing and Patient Health Outcomes in Outpatient Care: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Open forum infectious diseases · 2025Article
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- Implementing in-vitro diagnostic point-of-care tests in community health care: how can we make this work?The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025Article
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- Antivirals to prepare for surges in influenza cases: an economic evaluation of baloxavir marboxil for the Netherlands.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2024Article
- Factors influencing antibiotic prescribing for respiratory tract infections in primary care - a comparison of physicians with different antibiotic prescribing rates.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2024Article
- The use and usefulness of point-of-care tests in patients with pharyngotonsillitis - an observational study in primary health care.BMC primary care · 2024Observational
- Protocol for the development of an intervention to improve the use of Point-of-caRE DiagnostICs in the management of respiraTOry tRact infectionS in primary care (the PREDICTORS study).HRB open research · 2024Article
- C-reactive protein point-of-care testing in primary care-broader implementation needed to combat antimicrobial resistance.Frontiers in public health · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
28 authors at 18 institutions in 16 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBetween-country differences have been described in antibiotic prescribing for respiratory tract infection (RTI) in primary care, but not yet for diagnostic testing procedures and prescribing confidence.
aimTo describe between-country differences in RTI management, particularly diagnostic testing and antibiotic prescribing, and investigate which factors relate to antibiotic prescribing and GPs' prescribing confidence. DESIGN &
settingProspective audit in 18 European countries.
methodAn audit of GP-registered patient, clinical, and management characteristics for patients presenting with sore throat and/or lower RTI (
resultsAntibiotic prescribing proportions varied considerably: <20% in four countries, and >40% in six countries. There was also considerable variation in point-of-care (POC) testing (0% in Croatia, Moldova, and Romania, and >65% in Denmark and Norway, mainly for C-reactive protein [CRP] and group A streptococcal [strep A] infection), and in laboratory or hospital-based testing (<3% in Hungary, the Netherlands, and Spain, and >30% in Croatia, Georgia, Greece, and Moldova, mainly chest X-ray and white blood cell counting). Antibiotic prescribing was related to illness severity, comorbidity, age, fever, and country, but not to having performed a POC test. In nearly 90% of consultations, GPs were confident in their antibiotic prescribing decision.
conclusionDespite high confidence in decisions about antibiotic prescribing, there is considerable variation in the primary care of RTI in European countries, with GPs prescribing antibiotics overall more often than is considered appropriate. POC testing may enhance the quality of antibiotic prescribing decisions if it can safely reverse decisions confidently made on clinical grounds alone to prescribe antibiotics.
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Registered trials
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