BACKGROUND: Bacterial testing of all patients who present with acute cough is not feasible
in primary care. Furthermore, the extent to which easily obtainable clinical information …

Background: Antibiotics are commonly overused in adults seeking emergency department
(ED) care for acute cough illness. Objective: To evaluate the effect of a point-of-care C …

Background Acute cough is a common problem in general practice and is often caused by a
self-limiting, viral infection. Nonetheless, antibiotics are often prescribed in this situation …

Background Patients commonly present to primary care services with upper and lower
respiratory tract infections, and guidelines to help physicians investigate and treat acute …

The aim was to aid diagnosis of pneumonia in those presenting with lower respiratory tract
symptoms in routine primary care. A cohort of 28 883 adult patients with acute cough …

PURPOSE: To evaluate the performance of a rapid, bedside whole blood C-reactive protein
test as a diagnostic test for pneumonia in adults. METHODS: We enrolled consecutive adults …

PURPOSE Bacterial pathogens are assumed to cause an illness course different from that of
nonbacterial causes of acute cough, but evidence is lacking. We evaluated the disease …

Background Point of care testing for C-reactive protein (CRP) has shown promise as a
measure to reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescribing in respiratory tract infections (RTI), but …

Background We recently reported the derivation of a diagnostic aid to rule out pneumonia in
adults presenting with new onset of cough or worsening of chronic cough and increased …

Objective. Respiratory tract infections are the most common indication for antibiotic
prescribing in primary care. The value of clinical findings in lower respiratory tract infection …