Does Paging Clinicians about Tick-Borne Disease Serological Results Impact Clinical Care? A Retrospective Analysis of 70 Cases in North Carolina.
Am J Trop Med Hyg
; 110(4): 815-818, 2024 Apr 03.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38412547
ABSTRACT
Delayed treatment of Rocky Mountain spotted fever is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Because the diagnosis cannot be established from a single serological test, guidelines recommend empirical antibiotic initiation in suspect patients. We evaluated a policy used by UNC Health of paging clinicians when acute testing for Rickettsia returned with a titer ≥1256. Our objective was to assess the potential effect of paging on routine treatment practices. Notably, we found that a high proportion of cases (N = 28, 40%) were not prescribed antibiotics until the results were available. The vast majority of these cases did not have evidence of compatible symptoms or disease progression. These findings suggest that paging may have prompted unnecessary treatment. Overall, the policy, which has now been discontinued, appears to have had limited benefit. Efforts are urgently needed to improve adherence to testing and treatment guidelines.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Rickettsia
/
Febre Maculosa das Montanhas Rochosas
/
Doenças Transmitidas por Carrapatos
Limite:
Humans
País/Região como assunto:
America do norte
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Am J Trop Med Hyg
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article