FebriDx®: A Rapid Diagnostic Test for Differentiating Bacterial and Viral Aetiologies in Acute Respiratory Infections
Compliance with Ethical Standards
Funding The preparation of this review was not supported by any external funding.
Conflicts of interest Matt Shirley is a salaried employee of Adis International Ltd/Springer Nature, is responsible for the article content and declares no relevant conflicts of interest.
Additional
information about this Adis Diagnostic Profile can be found here.
Abstract
FebriDx® is a rapid, point-of-care
diagnostic test that is designed to aid in the differentiation of bacterial and
viral acute respiratory infections (ARIs), thus helping to guide decisions
regarding the prescription of antibiotics in the outpatient setting. FebriDx
carries a CE mark for use in the EU and is also approved in several other countries,
including Canada, Saudi Arabia and Singapore. It is indicated for use in
patients > 2 years old with symptoms consistent with a
community-acquired ARI. The test involves the use of an immunoassay on a
fingerstick blood sample to provide simultaneous, qualitative measurement of
elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and myxovirus resistance protein A
(MxA). In two prospective, multicentre studies in patients with acute upper
respiratory tract infections, FebriDx was shown to be both sensitive and
specific in identifying patients with a clinically significant infection and in
differentiating between infections of bacterial and viral aetiology. The test
is simple, requires no additional equipment and produces actionable results in
~ 10 min. As was demonstrated in a small, retrospective analysis, FebriDx
results can help guide (improve) antibiotic prescribing decisions. Reducing the
unnecessary or inappropriate prescription of antibiotics for ARIs of probable
viral aetiology is important for antibiotic stewardship and can also reduce the
unnecessary exposure of patients to the risk of antibiotic-related adverse
events. FebriDx thus represents a useful diagnostic tool in the outpatient
setting.
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
