Impact of viral multiplex real-time PCR on management of respiratory tract infection: a retrospective cohort study

Table 9 Change of antibiotic therapy after rtPCR, pediatric patients with another indication for antibiotics were excluded

	Viral	Bacterial	Mixed	No pathogen	Clinically	Clinically	p-value ^c
	(n = 27)	(n = 4)	(n = 3)	(n = 18)	bacterial ^a (n = 22)	viral ^b (n = 15)	Viral vs. bacterial	Viral vs. mixed	Viral vs. no pathogen
No antibiotic treatment before and after rtPCR, n (%)	12 (44.4)	1 (25.0)	0 (0.0)	6 (33.3)	6 (27.3)	11 (73.3)	0.87	0.40	0.46
Antibiotic treatment stopped after rtPCR, n (%)	6 (22.2)	0 (0.0)	0 (0.0)	1 (5.6)	2 (9.1)	4 (26.7)	0.80	1.00	0.27
Antibiotic treatment started after rtPCR, n (%)	1 (3.7)	0 (0.0)	1 (33.3)	3 (16.7)	3 (13.6)	0 (0.0)	1.00	0.39	0.34
Antibiotic treatment before and after rtPCR, n (%)	8 (29.6)	3 (75.0)	2 (66.7)	8 (44.4)	11 (50.0)	0 (0.0)	0.23	0.50	0.32
Correct management, n (%)	18 (66.7)	3 (75.0)	3 (100.0)		14 (63.6)	15 (100.0)	1.00	0.66	n/a

n number; rtPCR, real-time polymerase chain reaction
^aCases without detection of bacteria were evaluated as clinically bacterial if they fulfilled one of the following criteria: unilobular or multilobular pulmonary infiltrate or CRP >100 mg/l or PCT >0.25 μg/l or antibiotic therapy before rtPCR and no bacterium detection and biomarkers indeterminate (CRP >100 mg/l and PCT ≤0.25 μg/l or CRP between 51 and 100 mg/l and PCT not available)
^bCases with a detected viral pathogen excluding those patients with a clinically bacterial co-infection (as described above)
^cMantel-Haenszel chi square test or Fisher exact test were used

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