title: [Analysis of the Cochrane review: biomarkers as point-of-care tests to guide prescription of antibiotics in patients with acute respiratory infections in primary care. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014,11:CD10130].
abstract: Acute respiratory infections are the most frequent reason for prescribing antibiotics in primary health care. Since most acute respiratory infections are of viral or non-severe bacterial etiology, the use of antibiotics is not beneficial and exposes patients to side effects. In addition, the undifferentiated prescription of this drug group increases antibiotic resistance and promotes: 1. increased costs for health systems; 2. failure to future treatments, increased morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases. In the appropriate clinical setting, the use of biomarkers as point-of-care tests to assess the acute phase response to injury of tissue / organ, is a strategy in the therapeutic management of patients with acute respiratory infections in outpatient context. This Cochrane review compared the prescription of antibiotics to acute respiratory infections based: 1. exclusively in the clinic; 2. Iinn the use of biomarkers as point-of-care tests (eg C-reactive protein). The C-reactive protein in quick test seems to be associated with reduced use of antibiotics, however, there has not been a reduction in the lenght of treatment or the perception of recovery by the patient. There may be an increase of hospitalizations compared with the group of patients without the biomarker use; no mortality was register in either group.
authors: Centro de Estudos de Medicina Baseada na Evidência. Faculdade de Medicina. Universidade de Lisboa. Lisboa. Portugal.
authors: Pedro
authors: P
authors: Azevedo
authors: Centro de Estudos de Medicina Baseada na Evidência. Faculdade de Medicina. Universidade de Lisboa. Lisboa. Portugal. Centro Colaborador Português da Rede Cochrane Iberoamericana. Lisboa. Portugal. Unidade de Farmacologia Clínica. Instituto de Medicina Molecular. Faculdade de Medicina. Universidade de Lisboa. Lisboa. Portugal.
authors: João
authors: J
authors: Costa
authors: Centro de Estudos de Medicina Baseada na Evidência. Faculdade de Medicina. Universidade de Lisboa. Lisboa. Portugal. Centro Colaborador Português da Rede Cochrane Iberoamericana. Lisboa. Portugal.
authors: António
authors: A
authors: Vaz-Carneiro
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015415:Biomarkers; D006801:Humans; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D015415:Biomarkers