ArticleEuropean journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology2026
Real-world impact of multiplex PCR testing on antimicrobial management in patients evaluated for sexually transmitted infections.
Article in European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology, 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
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTo evaluate the impact of multiplex PCR results on antimicrobial management in patients undergoing evaluation for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), specifically focusing on treatment initiation, modification, or withholding following test results.
methodsThis retrospective single-center study included adult outpatients who underwent multiplex STI PCR testing at Gazi University Hospital between July 2019 and November 2022. Clinical and treatment data were reviewed, and the effect of PCR results on antimicrobial management was assessed using predefined clinical scenarios.
resultsA total of 731 patients were included, and PCR positivity was detected in 39.7% (290/731) of tests. The most frequently detected microorganisms were Ureaplasma parvum (18.1%), Ureaplasma urealyticum (14.9%), and Mycoplasma hominis (10%). Among asymptomatic patients with clinically significant pathogens, targeted antimicrobial therapy was initiated in 75% (30/40). Among asymptomatic patients with organisms of uncertain clinical significance, antimicrobial therapy was unnecessarily initiated in 43% (43/100). In symptomatic patients with clinically significant pathogens, empirical therapy was modified based on PCR results in 3 patients. Among symptomatic patients with negative PCR results, antimicrobial therapy was not initiated in 78.2% (169/216). Overall, PCR results were associated with management patterns potentially consistent with antimicrobial stewardship benefits in 202 patients.
conclusionsMultiplex PCR testing may contribute to antimicrobial management in STI evaluation by facilitating targeted therapy when clinically significant pathogens are detected. However, the role of negative PCR results in supporting decisions not to initiate antimicrobial treatment should be interpreted cautiously, particularly in patients with nonspecific symptoms. Broad multiplex panels may also promote overtreatment when microorganisms with uncertain clinical significance are detected.
Indexed as
Identifiers
42684567What 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.