BACKGROUND Most patients presenting with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) in primary care are prescribed an antibiotic, which may not always be appropriate and may cause harm. C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute-phase biomarker that can be rapidly measured at the point of care and may predict benefit from antibiotic treatment in AECOPD. It is not clear whet...

BACKGROUND Urinary tract infections (UTI) are the most frequent bacterial infection affecting women and account for about 15% of antibiotics prescribed in primary care. However, some women with a UTI are not prescribed antibiotics or are prescribed the wrong antibiotics, while many women who do not have a microbiologically confirmed UTI are prescribed antibiotics. Inappropriate antibiotic presc...

OBJECTIVE The objective of the WHO/US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief consultation was to discuss innovative strategies, offer guidance, and develop a comprehensive policy framework for implementing quality-assured HIV-related point-of-care testing (POCT). METHODS The consultation was attended by representatives from international agencies (WHO, UNICEF, UNITAID, Clinton Health Acce...

BACKGROUND UK guidance recommend all acute medical admissions be offered an HIV test. Our aim was to determine whether a dedicated staff member using a multimedia tool, a model found to be effective in the USA, is an acceptable, feasible, and cost-effective model when translated to a UK setting. DESIGN Between 14(th) Jan to 12(th) May 2010, a Health advisor (HA) approached 19-65 year olds at ...

Previous research suggests that point-of-care (POCT) determination of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is a diagnostic test can be an adequate alternative to measuring HbA1c in the laboratory. The main goal this study was examine analytical characteristics novel INCLIX POCT method for order its performance before introducing into routine use. measured duplicate 44 EDTA blood samples parallel on devi...

BACKGROUND For the diagnosis of seasonal influenza, clinicians rely on point-of-care testing (POCT) using commercially available kits developed against seasonal influenza viruses. However, POCT has not yet been established for the diagnosis of pandemic influenza A virus (H1N1pdm) infection due to the low sensitivity of the existing kits for H1N1pdm. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS An immunochr...

AIMS As the use of Point of Care Testing (POCT) devices for measurement of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) increases, it is imperative to determine how their performance compares to laboratory methods. This study compared the performance of the automated Quo-Test POCT device (EKF Diagnostics), which uses boronate fluorescence quenching technology, with a laboratory based High Performance Liquid Ch...