Too early to say test will be useful in practice
The idea of a test to guide the prescribing of antibiotics isn’t new, according to an expert who was not involved in FebriDx research.
Noah Ivers, MD, PhD, a family physician and associate professor at the University of Toronto who studies strategies to optimize primary care delivery, said, “many such point-of-care tests have been tried” to detect biomarkers such as CRP or procalcitonin, which is associated with bacterial infections.
Dr. Noah Ivers
Such tests have looked good in initial studies, he said, but when trialed in urgent care clinics, primary care clinics, or emergency departments, “they tend run into implementation challenges or simply lack of effects, or both.
“So, while I am happy at the news of this result, it’s too early to say with any certainty that it will prove useful in practice,” he added.
Meanwhile, Dr. Ivers said it’s “crucial that people understand that most illnesses are likely to be viral” and therefore not helped by antibiotics. When antibiotics are needed for outpatients, he said, “5 days is usually ample.”
The study was funded by Lumos Diagnostics. Among the 15 study authors, 6 had conflicts of interest disclosures, reporting ties to Inflammatix, Medical College of Wisconsin, Siemens, Technomics Research, and Lumos Diagnostics. Dr. Ivers reported no relevant financial interests.