Rapid tests help to diagnose serious infections in children

• The procedure also prevents unnecessary hospital referrals for less serious cases.
• Researcher Jan Verbakel said, “Conventional testing is often complex, expensive and most of all time-consuming. But recently, various so-called point-of-care tests have become available.”
• “These simple diagnostic tests can be performed in the general practitioner’s office and provide results within minutes. For the detection of serious infections, point-of-care CRP testing by means of a finger prick holds potential. The test measures the level of the C-reactive protein (CRP) in a drop of blood. The concentration of this protein increases in response to a pathogen,” he added.
• Serious infections such as meningitis, pneumonia, kidney or bone infections or dangerous inflammations of the skin have symptoms that resemble those of more common viral infections.
• “As a result, serious infections tend to stay off the general practitioner’s radar for too long. We asked ourselves how rapid diagnostic tests might help solve this problem,” he said.
• A one-year study involving over 3,100 ill children showed that 5 mg of CRP per litre of blood is a good threshold value to rule out serious infections but only after the practitioner has performed a clinical evaluation of the patient’s symptoms and vital functions.
• “Point-of-care CRP testing cannot replace a general practitioner. Does the GP sense that something is off? Is the child short of breath, or running a fever of more than 40°C? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, it’s useful to perform a point-of-care CRP test,” said Verbakel.
• Adding, “Our study showed that with this procedure, all serious infections were detected during the first visit to the general practitioner. But there’s no need to test all ill children”

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