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Point‐of‐care tests for lower respiratory tract infections
Author(s) -
Charles Patrick G P,
Grayson M Lindsay
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2007.tb01112.x
Subject(s) - respiratory tract infections , antibiotics , intensive care medicine , medicine , broad spectrum , pneumonia , respiratory system , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , chemistry , combinatorial chemistry
Many lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) are caused by organisms that do not require antibiotics or could be safely treated with narrow‐spectrum antibiotics. Reducing the unnecessary use of antibiotics, particularly broad‐spectrum agents, could reduce costs and side effects and delay the emergence of antibiotic‐resistant organisms. Various point‐of‐care tests are becoming available to help clinicians identify the cause of LRTIs at the time of consultation. Point‐of‐care tests can be used to diagnose influenza, pneumococcal infections, Legionella and respiratory syncytial virus infections, thus allowing early decisions to be made on appropriate management.