Don’t prescribe antibiotics before point-of-care test

Source: Pulse
Don’t prescribe antibiotics before point-of-care test.
Disclaimer: Views expressed are solely of the author and have no bearing on Advy Chemical Pvt Ltd.
NHS England plans to introduce point-of-care testing into GPs practices in the future as part of the drive to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing.

NHS needed to move from an empirical diagnosis – made particularly in primary care, where they haven’t got diagnostics in the same way as for example in the hospital – to a much more targeted approach, so we understand what the infection is and we are treating it in a very targeted and personalized way. To do that there’s a huge opportunity to use the rapid point-of-care diagnostics that are coming onto the market at pace.

Currently, point of care C-reactive protein testing is the closest we have to that. It’s an acute-phase protein, which is raised when there is inflammation strongly associated with bacteria rather than with viruses.