ArticleInfection control and hospital epidemiology2026
Repeat multiplex PCR gastrointestinal panel testing within 14 days yields minimal additional diagnostic information: a multicenter cohort study.
Article in Infection control and hospital epidemiology, 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
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionExpanded multiplex PCR gastrointestinal panels (GIPs) are routinely ordered to diagnose infectious diarrhea. However, recommendations for repeat GIP testing are limited, resulting in variable testing practices. We evaluated the diagnostic yield of repeat GIP testing within 14 days.
methodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study of adults (age ≥ 18 years) tested with GIPs across 12 hospitals and outpatient centers (2019-2024). We analyzed the first diarrheal episode per patient, excluding cases with invalid/missing results and
resultsAmong 16,502 patients, 507 (3.1%) underwent repeat GIP testing within 14 days (median interval: 6.3 days; IQR: 2.7-9.8). Only 4.6% [19/415] index-negative patients and 2.2% [2/92] index-positive patients detected new pathogens on repeat testing, with 51% [47/92] index-positive patients demonstrating persistence of at least one pathogen from their initial test. The number needed to test (NNT) to identify one new pathogen was 24 (95% CI: 16-39) tests overall, and 127 (95% CI: 50-455) tests to identify one new pathogen warranting antimicrobial treatment. Most repeat testing (86% [436/507]) was ordered by a different clinician. DISCUSSION: Repeat GIP testing within 14 days rarely provided new diagnostic information, highlighting the limited utility of early repeat testing. Institutional policies discouraging repeat GIPs within 14 days may improve diagnostic stewardship.
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.