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Effective antimicrobial stewardship programs rely on the ability to define which conditions do not require antibiotic therapy. Antibiotics are frequently prescribed for acute respiratory infections (ARIs) even though most are caused by viruses. Several studies have identified distinct host gene-expression responses for viral and bacterial ARIs. In a prospective study from four emergency departments, researchers assessed how well peripheral blood gene-expression patterns distinguished among viral ARIs, bacterial ARIs, and noninfectious acute respiratory illnesses.
They used data from 273 case patients who had a suspected community-onset ARI and underwent a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation and from 44 healthy controls. In the initial evalua…