ReviewFrontiers in pharmacology2025
Impact of pharmacist-interpreted pt-qPCR technology on antimicrobial use and clinical outcomes in patients with lower respiratory tract infections: a retrospective cohort study.
Review in Frontiers in pharmacology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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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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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Quantitative real-time PCR in the diagnosis of opportunistic infections in immunocompromised patients: Diagnostic performance, clinical utility, and future directions.Infectious diseases & immunity · 2026Review
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
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Abstract
Objective: Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and contribute to excessive empirical antibiotic use due to diagnostic delays. Rapid and accurate pathogen identification is essential for guiding targeted antimicrobial therapy and improving drug outcomes. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of pathogen-targeted quick multiplex PCR (pt-qPCR) compared to conventional microbiological testing on antimicrobial use and clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients with LRTIs. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study conducted at a tertiary hospital in China (March 2023-March 2024), patients with LRTIs were assigned to either a conventional testing group or a pt-qPCR group. Outcomes included pathogen detection rate, length of hospital stay (LOS), antimicrobial days of therapy (DOT), antimicrobial duration before and after testing, time to targeted therapy, mortality, and ICU transfer rate. Results: A total of 220 patients were enrolled (conventional: n = 112; pt-qPCR: n = 108). Baseline characteristics were comparable, except for higher chronic pulmonary disease prevalence (58.0% vs. 20.4%, Conclusion: Pharmacist-interpreted pt-qPCR significantly improves pathogen detection and optimizes antimicrobial therapy in LRTI patients. Its clinical use may enhance antibiotic stewardship, reduce ICU burden, and support precision medicine in respiratory infections.
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