ArticleBMJ paediatrics open2025
Impact of multiplex PCR respiratory viral panel testing on antibiotic utilisation in children with acute febrile and respiratory illnesses.
Article in BMJ paediatrics open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Scenario-Driven Rapid Testing for Top Pathogens in Pediatric Respiratory Infections: Clinical and Economic Value from Emergency Triage to Precision Anti-Infective Management in the PICU.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Decoupling of Respiratory Virus Positivity and Host Inflammatory Response: A 16-Year Longitudinal Study.Microorganisms · 2026Article
- Article
- Tri-layer microbiology for LMIC Hospitals: linking syndromic panels with reflex culture and targeted sequencing for real world care - a narrative review.The Brazilian journal of infectious diseases : an official publication of the Brazilian Society of Infectious DiseasesReview
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundThe utility of a PCR-based respiratory virus panel (RVP) in limiting antibiotic overuse in paediatric febrile and respiratory illnesses in low- and middle-income countries remains unclear.
methodsThis retrospective study included inpatients who underwent RVP testing within 48 hours of admission between January 2021 and December 2022. The primary outcome was the impact of the respiratory viral panel result on total duration of antibiotics. The secondary outcome was discontinuation of antibiotics following test results and duration of antibiotics in specific subgroups. A zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB) regression identified predictors of outcome.
resultsOf the 210 cases, 152 (72.3%) tested positive for ≥1 virus. 42% of patients had their antibiotics discontinued after getting a positive result. Overall, we noted a minimal effect of a positive RVP result in reducing antibiotic utilisation. However, in influenza patients, we observed a significant decrease in median antibiotic days compared with those with negative RVP (3 days (IQR 0-5.5) vs 6 days (IQR 2.25-8); p=0.011). Patients with acute febrile illness with viral aetiology received fewer days of antibiotics compared with those with negative RVP (2.5 days (IQR 0-5) vs 5 days (IQR 2-7); p=0.035). ZINB regression analysis showed that pneumonia patients (OR=1.27; p=0.03) and those with paediatric intensive care unit stay (1.2; 0.02) had higher odds of prolonged antibiotic use despite RVP positivity.
conclusionIn our setting, RVP reduced antibiotic use in specific subgroups like influenza-positive patients and those with acute febrile illness and could be potentially used as an antibiotic stewardship tool in these settings.
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