Observational studyThe Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy2026
Infection point of care tests bridge the experience gap of antibiotic STOP decisions: clinicians versus students.
Observational study in The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPoint of care tests (POCTs) offer accurate rapid diagnostics for infection, but not reduced antibiotic overuse in antibiotic stewardship (ABS) studies. Prescribing behaviour shaped by clinical experience may influence antibiotic decisions more than test performance. Understanding prescribing behavioural differences may inform ABS education.
objectivesTo find out whether antibiotic decision making differ among medical students and intensive care clinicians when offered POCT use.
methodsAn observational study depicted four simulated clinical vignettes of hospital acquired pneumonia. Clinicians and students decided to STOP or continue antibiotics, before and after a PCR-POCT result (negative for infection). Four clinico-biological (WBC/CRP) trajectories were tested: 'clinical-biological improvement', 'clinical improvement/biological worsening', 'clinical worsening/biological improvement' and 'clinical-biological worsening'. STOP decisions, POCT requests and willingness to stop antibiotics were compared between groups using Chi-squared analysis, Wilcoxon-rank and logistic regression analyses.
resultsEighty-eight students and 70 clinicians participated. Pre-POCT, students stopped antibiotics less than clinicians (42% versus 53%, P = 0.007); most markedly in 'clinical improvement/biological worsening' (36% versus 73%, P < 0.001). Both groups requested POCT equally (65% versus 67%, P = 0.65). Negative POCT results raised student STOP rates to those of clinicians (70% versus 67%, P = 0.466); the greatest rise being in 'clinical improvement/biological worsening' (P = 0.006).
conclusionsInfection-detecting POCTs (negative) improved students' antibiotic stop rates to the level of clinicians, particularly in cases of clinico-biological ambiguity. A requested and negative POCT result can reduce (over)cautious prescribing, especially with ambiguous trajectories. Such simulated clinical infection vignettes offer a learning tool to improve antimicrobial judgement, and confidence in POCT driven decision making.
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.