ArticleJournal of thoracic disease2022
C-reactive protein testing to reduce antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory infections in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Article in Journal of thoracic disease, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06929767 (Biomarker Guided Decision-making in Acute Exacerbation of COPD), which is not on this map. Cited by 15 papers, 2 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.
Biomarker Guided Decision-making in Acute Exacerbation of COPD: a Feasibility Study
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 24 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
- Clinicians' perspectives on a primary healthcare intervention to reduce antibiotic prescription for acute lower respiratory tract infections in Barcelona (Spain): a qualitative study.Primary health care research & development · 2025Trial
- Impact of Point-of-Care Rapid Diagnostic Tests on Antibiotic Prescription Among Patients Aged <18 Years in Primary Healthcare Settings in 2 Peri-Urban Districts in Ghana: Randomized Controlled Trial Results.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2023Trial
- 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
- Combining an antibiotic stewardship program with a 15-pathogen viral panel to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing.Microbiology spectrum · 2026Article
- Point-of-care testing reduces antibiotic prescribing for adults with community-acquired pneumonia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- Performance evaluation of a point of care capillary blood test for C-reactive protein in community healthcare.BMC primary care · 2025Article
- Management of Mastitis in the Hospital Setting: An International Audit Study.Journal of human lactation : official journal of International Lactation Consultant Association · 2025Article
- Optimal Implementation of Antimicrobial Stewardship in General Practice: protocol for a feasibility study and evaluation of a digital AMS Toolbox.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2025Article
- General practitioners' management of mastitis in breastfeeding women: a mixed method study in Australia.BMC primary care · 2024Article
- Guidance on C-reactive protein point-of-care testing and complementary strategies to improve antibiotic prescribing for adults with lower respiratory tract infections in primary care.Frontiers in medicine · 2023Article
- Diagnoses Based on C-Reactive Protein Point-of-Care Tests.Biosensors · 2022Review
- Risk Factors for Hospital Readmission forPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Antimicrobial stewardship in non-COVID-19 patients with fever and respiratory symptoms in outpatient settings: Lessons from the "dynamic zero-COVID policy" in mainland China.The Journal of infection · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a worldwide public health problem. Abuse of antibiotic in acute respiratory tract infections (ARI) contributes to the increasing AMR. C-reactive protein (CRP) testing may help reduce antibiotic overprescribing, but the available evidence quality varies widely. There is no meta-analysis of CRP testing to guide the antibiotic prescribing for adult ARI. Therefore, we conducted this meta-analysis to determine the effectiveness of CRP testing to guide antibiotic prescribing in adult ARI.
methodsWe searched the Cochrane Library, PubMed, and EMBASE databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving our meta-analysis from the establishment of these databases until January 16, 2021. Two reviewers extracted the data separately and pooled the data using RevMan5.3. The evidence quality was appraised strictly with GRADE system.
resultsSeven studies included with 3,614 patients. Compared with routine care, CRP testing reduced antibiotic prescribing rate at the index consultation significantly [risk ratio (RR) =0.76; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.68-0.85; P<0.00001], and during 28 days follow-up (RR =0.77; 95% CI: 0.73-0.81; P<0.00001). There were no significant differences between CRP testing and routine care in clinical recovery of patients within 7 days (RR =0.95; 95% CI: 0.90-1.01; P=0.08). Moreover, adverse events were not significantly different between CRP testing and routine care. DISCUSSION: CRP testing can reduce the antibiotic prescribing rate at index consultation and during 28 days follow-up. These findings support the conclusion that CRP testing is valuable to guide the antibiotic prescribing for adult ARI.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.