TY - JOUR
T1 - C-reactive protein point-of-care testing and antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory tract infections in rural primary health centres of North Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study
AU - Yebyo, Henock
AU - Medhanyie, Araya Abrha
AU - Spigt, Mark
AU - Hopstaken, Rogier
PY - 2016/1/14
Y1 - 2016/1/14
N2 - Unjustified antibiotic prescribing for acute upper respiratory infections (URTIs) is probably more common in poor-resource settings where physicians are scarce. Introducing C-reactive protein (CRP) point-of-care testing in such settings could reduce the misuse of antibiotics, which could avert antibiotic resistance. However, information useful for the applicability of CRP test in resource-limited settings is lacking. This study aimed to elicit the frequency of antibiotic prescribing and distribution of CRP levels in remote, rural settings in Ethiopia. We included 414 patients with acute URTIs from four health centres. Health professionals recorded the clinical features of the patients, but the laboratory professionals measured the CRP levels of all patients at the point of care. The most prominent respiratory causes for consultation were acute URTIs combined (44.4%), and lower respiratory tract infections-pneumonia (29.71%) and acute bronchitis (25.84%). The CRP distribution was
AB - Unjustified antibiotic prescribing for acute upper respiratory infections (URTIs) is probably more common in poor-resource settings where physicians are scarce. Introducing C-reactive protein (CRP) point-of-care testing in such settings could reduce the misuse of antibiotics, which could avert antibiotic resistance. However, information useful for the applicability of CRP test in resource-limited settings is lacking. This study aimed to elicit the frequency of antibiotic prescribing and distribution of CRP levels in remote, rural settings in Ethiopia. We included 414 patients with acute URTIs from four health centres. Health professionals recorded the clinical features of the patients, but the laboratory professionals measured the CRP levels of all patients at the point of care. The most prominent respiratory causes for consultation were acute URTIs combined (44.4%), and lower respiratory tract infections-pneumonia (29.71%) and acute bronchitis (25.84%). The CRP distribution was
U2 - 10.1038/npjpcrm.2015.76
DO - 10.1038/npjpcrm.2015.76
M3 - Article
SN - 2055-1010
VL - 26
JO - npj Primary Care Respiratory Medicine
JF - npj Primary Care Respiratory Medicine
M1 - 15076
ER -