Impact of the improvement in the etiological diagnosis of community pneumonia
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background and objective Etiological diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is only reached in 30%–40% of cases, which frequently requires keeping empirical antibiotic regimens. The new nucleic acid amplification techniques (NAAT) in respiratory samples raise the possibility of improving this clinical practice. Our objective was to analyze TAANs contribution estimating both their costs and benefits. Patients and methods The admitted CAPs were analyzed, in which, if the conventional diagnostic tests were negative, a NAAT was performed. If positive results was made, we assessed if antimicrobials were modified, a cost estimate, and isolation measures. Results 64 cases were documented. An etiological diagnosis was made in 65.6%: 10.9% were obtained by conventional techniques and the rest (54.7%) by TAAN. These tests’ results led to antimicrobial regimen’s modification in 88.9% of cases and isolations in 78.5% Conclusions Compared to TAAN’s economic cost, it is worth considering its contributions, such as antimicrobials’ reduction, ecological pressure, and isolations’ indications.
Authors: Santiago Roques, Pere Tudela, Eduard Clot, Sarah Dávila, Frank Abella, Josep Vega
Language: English
Subfield: Epidemiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,550
OpenAlex ID: W4407409867