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C Reactive Protein (CRP) Intervention to Reduce Inappropriate Antibiotic Prescriptions in the Primary Healthcare Setting

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Acute Respiratory Infections
Interventions
Procedure: Patients will be tested by rapid POC CRP test
Registration Number
NCT01918579
Lead Sponsor
Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Vietnam
Brief Summary

Many studies have showed that rapid point-of-care (POC) c-reactive protein (CRP) test can reduce inappropriate use of antibiotic at primary health care level. In Vietnam, prevalence of antibiotic abuse for community acute respiratory infection has been reported. This study will test the hypothesis that CRP POC testing for patients with non-severe acute respiratory illness at primary healthcare stations reduces inappropriate antibiotic use safely.

The study will be conducted at ten district health care facilities in Hanoi, Viet Nam. Investigators intend to enroll 2,000 participants aged 6-65 years with non-severe acute respiratory infection. Patients will be randomly allocated to the control or the intervention arm. Participants in the control group will be treated according to routine care. Participants in the intervention arm will have a CRP test, the results of which will be available to the health care practitioner to contribute to their diagnosis and treatment decisions.

All patients will be followed-up via telephone call after 14 days. The study will compare the proportion of patients in each arm receiving any antibiotics within 2 weeks of study enrollment.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
2037
Inclusion Criteria
  • Patients, aged 6 to 65 years, that visit one of the 10 selected primary healthcare centers
  • Suspected to have acute respiratory tract infection (ARI) by treating physician
  • Informed consent
Exclusion Criteria
  • Severe respiratory disease as determined by treating doctor
  • Any disease or symptom requiring hospital referral as determined by treating doctor
  • Immunosuppressed patients (e.g. HIV, long term steroid use)
  • Suspicion of tuberculosis
  • Evidence of acute or chronic liver disease (e.g. hepatitis or cirrhosis due to any cause)
  • Past medical history of: neoplastic disease, congestive cardiac failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, insulin-dependent diabetes or renal disease
  • Pregnancy
  • No access to telephone
  • Not able to come for follow up visit on day 3 or 4.
  • Already taking antibiotics at the time of presentation
  • Symptoms present for more than 2 weeks
  • Presence of any sign of severe diseases as defined by the British Thoracic Society modified CRP-65 system for severity scoring of pneumonia in primary care.

For children (Age ≥ 6 years and < 16 years) additional exclusion criteria include: Tachypnea, signs of chest wall in drawing, reduced consciousness, confusion, dehydration, hypothermia, severe malnutrition, unable to feed or drink, vomiting, and convulsions.

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
CRP interventionPatients will be tested by rapid POC CRP testPatients will be tested by rapid POC CRP test
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Proportion of patients receiving any antibiotic2 weeks

Number of patients receiving any antibiotic within 2 weeks of study enrollment as a proportion of the total number of patients.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Frequency of re-consultation2 weeks

Number of visits to a health care practitioner during the 14 day follow-up.

Duration of symptoms2 weeks

Number of days that symptoms (including fever or any respiratory symptom) endure.

Frequency of serious adverse events2 weeks

Number of serious adverse events which occur during the 14 day follow-up period.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

National Hospital for Tropical Diseases

🇻🇳

Hanoi, Vietnam

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