Article Figures & Data
Figures
- Figure 1. C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and the proportion of patients prescribed an antibiotic. Legends indicate the width of the interval around the index CRP level used to calculate the proportion of patients who were prescribed antibiotics, respectively 0, 5, and 10mg/L above and below. Bars indicate 95% confidence intervals. CRP levels 150–300mg/L not shown.
- Figure 2. Proportions of patients who are prescribed an antibiotic according to C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in the range from 5 mg/L below to 5 mg/L above the index. CRP levels 100–300 mg/L not shown.
Tables
- Table 1. Characteristics of the 143 participating GPs compared to all GPs in each regions.
Northern region, n (%) Southern region, n (%) Central region, n (%) All GPsa Participants All GPsa Participants All GPsa Participants Total 303 59 (20) 785 46 (5.9) 811 38 (4.7) Mean age, years 54 49 59 49 52 51 Female GPs 134 (44) 35 (59) 385 (49) 30 (65) 427 (53) 24 (63) aNumbers from the Organisation of General Practitioners32
- Table 2. C-reactive protein (CRP) tests for patients with acute respiratory tract infections in Danish general practice
Patient characteristics Total CRP POCT performed Odds of CRP POCT n (%) n (%) ORage-adjusted (95% CI) Total 7832 (100) 4635 (59) Age groups, years 0–14 2705 (35) 772 (29) 1 (reference) 15–64 3793 (49) 2773 (73) 6.81 (6.10 to 7.60) >64 1305 (17) 1071 (82) 11.46 (9.72 to 13.51) Symptoms and findings Fever 2971 (38) 1811 (61) 1.81 (1.62 to 2.02) Cough 5611 (72) 3714 (66) 2.85 (2.54 to 3.20) Sore throat 1866 (24) 1053 (56) 0.78 (0.69 to 0.88) Ear/face pain 1317 (17) 592 (45) 0.54 (0.47 to 0.62) Dyspnoea 881 (11) 691 (78) 1.97 (1.63 to 2.36) Purulent rhinorrhoea 1324 (17) 714 (54) 0.83 (0.72 to 0.94) Deterioration of symptoms 861 (11) 569 (66) 1.34 (1.13 to 1.58) Poor general appearance 1546 (21) 1131 (73) 2.15 (1.87 to 2.47) Abnormal lung auscultation 1063 (14) 765 (72) 1.67 (1.42 to 1.97) Duration of symptoms, days ≤1 504 (7) 193 (38) 1 (reference) 2–4 2958 (40) 1551 (52) 1.35 (1.09 to 1.68) 5–14 3233 (44) 2134 (66) 1.85 (1.49 to 2.30) >14 679 (9) 470 (69) 1.60 (1.22 to 2.09) CI = confidence interval. CRP = C-reactive protein. OR = odds ratio. POCT = point-of-care test
- Table 3. C-reactive protein (CRP) cut-offsa used by 143 Danish GPs for patients with acute respiratory tract infections
Patient characteristics 25% cut-offCRP, mg/L (CI) 50% cut-offCRP, mg/L (CI) 75% cut-offCRP, mg/L (CI) All the patients (n = 4635) 20 (18 to 22) 40 (37 to 42) 50 (47 to 98) Age group, years 0–14 22 (18 to 67) 43 (32 to 98) 45 (43 to 98) 15–64 22 (20 to 28) 42 (38 to 45) 64 (49 to 99) >64 17 (14 to 20) 33 (24 to 41) 46 (41 to 98) Fever Yes 20 (17 to 23) 38 (34 to 41) 47 (45 to 84) No 22 (17 to 25) 45 (36 to 97) 66 (50 to 99) Symptoms Cough 24 (22 to 27) 42 (38 to 44) 64 (49 to 99) Sore throat 29 (19 to 37) 45 (38 to 71) 74 (49 to 99) Ear/face pain 11 (5 to 12) 20 (14 to 99) 40 (37 to 99) Dyspnoea 11 (8 to 20) 24 (21 to 99) 38 (30 to 99) Purulent rhinorrhoea 14 (13 to 32) 38 (25 to 99) 55 (40 to 99) Duration of symptoms, days ≤1 21 (14 to 89) 29 (22 to 99) 53 (29 to 99) 2–4 24 (20 to 36) 43 (41 to 48) 54 (49 to 98) 5–14 17 (15 to 22) 38 (33 to 61) 46 (45 to 99) >14 15 (14 to 93) 27 (21 to 93) 50 (29 to 93) Deterioration of symptoms Yes 14 (11 to 39) 42 (20 to 99) 46 (42 to 99) No 22 (20 to 24) 41 (37 to 44) 51 (49 to 98) Poor general appearance Yes 15 (11 to 17) 29 (22 to 41) 44 (42 to 85) No 24 (21 to 29) 43 (39 to 46) 66 (51 to 99) Abnormal lung auscultation Yes 3 (1 to 8) 22 (13 to 27) 32 (28 to 99) No 24 (21 to 33) 45 (42 to 62) 68 (50 to 99) aEstimated as the lowest level of CRP at which the given percentage of patients were prescribed an antibiotic. Values in brackets indicate the 95% CI for the CRP levels ±5 mg/L, based on binomial distribution. CI = confidence interval. CRP = C-reactive protein.
In this issue
C-reactive protein cut-offs used for acute respiratory infections in Danish general practice
Jump to section
More in this TOC Section
Related Articles
Cited By...
Intended for Healthcare Professionals
