C-reactive protein point-of-care testing and antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory tract infections in rural primary health centres of North Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study.

Over-prescription of antibiotics for respiratory infections in the third world may have an easy remedy: a two-minute blood test. Henock Yebyo at Ethiopia's Mekelle University and colleagues in the Netherlands and Norway studied 414 Ethiopian patients who arrived at health centers with upper respiratory tract infections. The researchers added a quick screening step to patient care: a simple finger-prick blood testing kit that measures a marker of inflammation called C-reactive protein. C-reactive protein levels broadly mapped to the severity of infection, and when assessed with other symptoms this test presented a feasible, low-cost way to identify which patients most warranted antibiotic prescription. The growth of antibiotic resistance is particularly concerning in the third world, so adding this screening step may have important ramifications in the fight against antibiotic resistance worldwide.