Nucleic acid-based testing for noninfluenza pathogens suggested for hospitalized patients who have severe CAP or are immunocompromised<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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WEDNESDAY, June 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) — In a clinical practice guideline issued by the American Thoracic Society and published in the May 1 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine<\/em>, nucleic acid-based viral diagnostics are suggested for hospitalized patients with suspected community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) but only for patients who have severe disease or are immunocompromised.<\/p>\n Scott E. Evans, M.D., from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, and colleagues examined the literature to develop recommendations regarding whether routine diagnostics should include nucleic acid-based testing of respiratory samples for viral pathogens other than influenza in adults with suspected CAP.<\/p>\n Because of the risk for bias and imprecision, the evidence addressing this topic was generally adjudicated to be of very low quality. There was little direct evidence to support a role for routine nucleic acid-based testing of respiratory samples for improving critical outcomes; these outcomes included overall survival or patterns of antibiotic use. Consequently, the authors suggested not performing routine nucleic acid-based testing of respiratory samples for viral pathogens other than influenza in outpatients with suspected CAP. Nucleic acid-based testing of respiratory samples for viral pathogens other than influenza is suggested for hospitalized patients with suspected CAP who have severe CAP or are immunocompromised.<\/p>\n “At the time of document development, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was not a recognized CAP-causing pathogen,” the authors write. “As such, the systematic literature review did not consider this virus, and no related recommendations are made.”<\/p>\n Several authors disclosed financial ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.<\/p>\n