Impact of rapid diagnostic tests for capillary C-reactive protein (CRP) on antibiotic use in general medicine

Effectiveness of CRP testing in primary care centers to reduce antibiotics use in respiratory infection: a randomized controlled trial

Status

Recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN45343680

Enrollment

4284

Registered

2024-09-24

Start date

2025-09-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2024-10-07

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Combating the misuse of antibiotics in patients with respiratory infections in primary care Respiratory

Interventions

A total of 84 GPs will be recruited and assigned in two groups, through randomization by the biostatistician. Half of the investigators will form an « intervention group » and will receive CRP test ma

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. 3 months of age or older 2. At least one of the following symptoms: cough, rhinorrhea, blocked nose, dyspnea, mucopurulent discharge, fever, general state alteration with aches, asthenia

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Pregnant women 2. Persons under guardianship 3. Infection without respiratory signs (digestive or urinary infection) 4. Sore throat (because quick test StreptoTest is available) 5. Withdrawal of consent

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
The correlation between capillary CRP levels measured in mg/L using the capillary CRP diagnostic test in the intervention group and the antibiotic prescription rate in the control group measured using data collected from medical records one month after the consultations	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
The following secondary outcome measures are measured using data collected in a questionnaire one month after the consultation: 1. The medico-economic impact: the number of consultations (GPs, specialists and Emergency service) in the month following the first consultation and their prices, antibiotics prescriptions and their prices, other treatments prescribed and their prices, cost of medical leaves prescription, cost of radiology exams prescription 2. The ecological-bacterial impact: the number of broad-spectrum antibiotics (fluoroquinolone, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, 3rd generation cephalosporin) 3. The medical impact: the time to heal 4. The psychological impact: patients in the intervention group only and GP’s opinions about the use of CRP capillary-test, confidence in the medical decision, advantage perceived by the patient with CRP capillary test	—

Measure

Time frame

The following secondary outcome measures are measured using data collected in a questionnaire one month after the consultation: 1. The medico-economic impact: the number of consultations (GPs, specialists and Emergency service) in the month following the first consultation and their prices, antibiotics prescriptions and their prices, other treatments prescribed and their prices, cost of medical leaves prescription, cost of radiology exams prescription 2. The ecological-bacterial impact: the number of broad-spectrum antibiotics (fluoroquinolone, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, 3rd generation cephalosporin) 3. The medical impact: the time to heal 4. The psychological impact: patients in the intervention group only and GP’s opinions about the use of CRP capillary-test, confidence in the medical decision, advantage perceived by the patient with CRP capillary test

—

Countries

France

Contacts

Public ContactAmelie Richard

amelie.richard@uca.fr+33 06 460 01 79 77

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026