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. 2024 Jan 3;79(1):123-127.
doi: 10.1093/jac/dkad355.

UK clinicians' attitudes towards the application of molecular diagnostics to guide antibiotic use in ICU patients with pneumonias: a quantitative study

Sarah-Jane F Stewart  1 , Alyssa M Pandolfo  1 , Zoe Moon  1 , Yogini Jani  1   2 , Stephen J Brett  3 , David Brealey  4 , Suveer Singh  5   6 , Virve I Enne  7 , David M Livermore  8 , Vanya Gant  9 , Robert Horne  1
Affiliations

UK clinicians' attitudes towards the application of molecular diagnostics to guide antibiotic use in ICU patients with pneumonias: a quantitative study

Sarah-Jane F Stewart et al. J Antimicrob Chemother. .

Abstract

Background: Molecular diagnostic tests may improve antibiotic prescribing by enabling earlier tailoring of antimicrobial therapy. However, clinicians' trust and acceptance of these tests will determine their application in practice.

Objectives: To examine ICU prescribers' views on the application of molecular diagnostics in patients with suspected hospital-acquired and ventilator-associated pneumonia (HAP/VAP).

Methods: Sixty-three ICU clinicians from five UK hospitals completed a cross-sectional questionnaire between May 2020 and July 2020 assessing attitudes towards using molecular diagnostics to inform initial agent choice and to help stop broad-spectrum antibiotics early.

Results: Attitudes towards using molecular diagnostics to inform initial treatment choices and to stop broad-spectrum antibiotics early were nuanced. Most (83%) were positive about molecular diagnostics, agreeing that using results to inform broad-spectrum antibiotic prescribing is good practice. However, many (58%) believed sick patients are often too unstable to risk stopping broad-spectrum antibiotics based on a negative result.

Conclusions: Positive attitudes towards the application of molecular diagnostics to improve antibiotic stewardship were juxtapositioned against the perceived need to initiate and maintain broad-spectrum antibiotics to protect unstable patients.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Clinicians’ agreement with attitudes towards the application of rapid molecular diagnostics (RMD; ‘Pneumonia Panel’) as a tool to inform the initial choice of antibiotic and to stop a broad-spectrum antibiotic (BSAB) early.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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