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OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of an intervention package on the prescription of antibiotic and subsequently the rate of clinical recovery for non-severe acute febrile illnesses at primary health centers. METHODS: Patients over 6 months of age presenting to primary health care centres with fever or history of fever within the past 7 days were randomized to receive either the intervention package constituted of point-of-care tests including COVID-19 antigen tests, a diagnostic algorithm and training and communication packages, or the standard practice. The primary outcomes were antibiotic prescriptions at Day 0 (D0) and the clinical recovery at Day 7 (D7). Secondary outcomes were non-adherence of participants and parents/caregivers to prescriptions, health workers' non-adherence to the algorithm, and the safety of the intervention. RESULTS: A total of 1098 patients were enrolled. 551 (50.2%) were randomized to receive the intervention versus 547 (49.8%) received standard care. 1054 (96.0%) completed follow-up and all of them recovered at D7 in both arms. The proportion of patients with antibiotic prescriptions at D0 were 33.2% (183/551) in the intervention arm versus 58.1% (318/547) under standard care, risk difference (RD) -24.9 (95% CI -30.6 to -19.2, p 

Original publication

DOI

10.1186/s12879-024-09787-y

Type

Journal article

Journal

BMC Infect Dis

Publication Date

27/08/2024

Volume

24

Keywords

Acute fever, Antibiotic prescription, COVID-19, Point-of-care tests, Respiratory tract infection, Humans, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Female, Male, COVID-19, Child, Preschool, Infant, Burkina Faso, Primary Health Care, Fever, Child, Algorithms, Point-of-Care Testing, SARS-CoV-2, Adolescent, Adult, Point-of-Care Systems