Journal
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Volume 21, Issue 8, Pages 1366-1371Publisher
CENTERS DISEASE CONTROL
DOI: 10.3201/eid2108.140978
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- Patient Safety and Quality Committee of the Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Medicine at the University of Ottawa
- Cameron C. Gray Fellowship award from the Ontario Thoracic Society in Ontario, Canada
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research
- University of Ottawa, Department of Medicine
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Testing patients for respiratory viruses should guide isolation precautions and provide a rationale for antimicrobial drug therapies, but few studies have evaluated these assumptions. To determine the association between viral testing, patient outcomes, and care processes, we identified adults hospitalized with respiratory symptoms from 2004 through 2012 at a large, academic, tertiary hospital in Canada. Viral testing was performed in 11% (2,722/24,567) of hospital admissions and was not associated with reduced odds for death (odds ratio 0.90, 95% Cl 0.76-1.10) or longer length of stay (+1 day for those tested). Viral testing resulted in more resource utilization, including intensive care unit admission, but positive test results were not associated with less antibiotic use or shorter duration of isolation. Results suggest that health care providers do not use viral test results in making management decisions at this hospital. Further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of respiratory infection control policies.
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