Utility of Rapid Flu Tests in the Medical Management of Returning Travelers With Fever
试验速览
- 阶段
- 不适用
- 状态
- 已完成
- 发起方
- 入组人数
- 93
- 试验地点
- 4
- 主要终点
- Cost for the Medical Management of Patients
研究概览
简要总结
Influenza is a frequent cause of fever in returning travelers. Usually diagnosis rests on the clinical picture. Rapid flu tests are becoming increasingly popular, although their sensitivity and specificity are suboptimal. The objective of this study is to evaluate if rapid flu tests influence the medical management of returning travelers with fever, a population at intermediate risk for influenza infections.
详细描述
Travelers are at risk of acquiring infectious diseases. Previous studies have estimated that about 11% of travelers develop fever during or shortly after their trip abroad. Influenza has been shown to be one of the most important cause of fever amongst travelers. A sero-epidemiological survey showed that 27 of 211 patients (12.8%) with fever during or after a trip abroad developed antibodies against the influenza virus. Another study showed that 13% of travellers, who consulted after return with flu-like symptoms, had PCR or culture-proven influenza. The incidence of influenza in travellers varies according to the seasons, but cases can be seen year round. In tropical countries transmission is year-long and in the southern hemisphere the flu epidemics occur during the summer of the northern hemisphere.
In most hospitals no confirmatory test for influenza is routinely done. For special cases a PCR or viral culture can be requested, but the results are only available after 48 hours for the PCR and after several days for the culture. It is suspected that the inability to confirm the diagnosis of flu contributes to the request of a greater number of useless investigations and inappropriate use of anti-infective treatments.
Rapid diagnostic tests are easy to use, relatively cheap and they yield a result within a clinically relevant time frame (30 minutes). For the detection of influenza there are a variety of rapid diagnostic tests on the market. The reported sensitivities and specificities are quite variable, but the new generations report median sensitivities of 70 - 75% and median specificities between 90 and 95%. The rapid tests are considered most useful in patient populations with a significant proportion of influenza cases. The WHO encourages to use rapid diagnostic tests for influenza in returning travelers with fever, considering that this patient population is at significant risk of acquiring influenza during their trip.
The aim of this study is to evaluate if rapid flu tests influence the medical management of returning travelers with fever
研究设计
- 研究类型
- Interventional
- 分配方式
- Randomized
- 干预模型
- Parallel
- 主要目的
- Diagnostic
- 盲法
- None
入排标准
- 年龄范围
- 18 Years 至 —（Adult, Older Adult）
- 性别
- All
- 接受健康志愿者
- 否
入选标准
- •Adults 18 years or older
- •Returning from abroad within the last 14 days
- •Documented fever of 38oC or above or anamnestic fever + cough or sore throat within the last 4 days before the consultation.
排除标准
- •Unwillingness to participate
结局指标
主要结局
Cost for the Medical Management of Patients
时间窗: 4 years
次要结局
- Number of Patients Receiving a Prescription for Antibiotics(4 years)
- Chest X-ray Requested(4 years)
研究者
Serge de Valliere
Consultant
University of Lausanne Hospitals