II. Background
- Respiratory Panels are PCR tests (often point-of-care) that test for multiple Bacteria and viral Antigens
- May decrease the use of antibiotics (or broad spectrum antibiotics) in the ambulatory, emergency and hospital setting
- Consider when other testing (cxr, Influenza, covid, RSV) in acute respiratory illness is non-diagnostic
- However, benefits of testing are mixed against the test costs (>$400 in 2023 and not consistently reimbursed)
- Coinfection is not excluded and even when pathogen is identified, antibiotics are often continued
- Viral pathogen identification has not consistently resulted in less antibiotic use
III. Labs: BioFire Respiratory Panel 2.1
- Test Sensitivity is high (95 to 100% except where otherwise noted)
-
Viruses (19)
- Adenovirus
- Coronavirus (6 strains including Covid, MERS)
- Human Metapneumovirus
- Human Rhinovirus and enterovirus
- Influenza (Influenza B and various Influenza A strains)
- Parainfluenza (4 strains)
- Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)
-
Bacteria
- Bordatella Pertussis (Test Sensitivity 66%)
- Bordatella Parapertussis (Test Sensitivity 85%)
- Chlamydia pneumoniae
- Mycoplasma pneumoniae
IV. References
- Bennett (2023) Am Fam Physician 108(2): 189-91