Using rapid molecular diagnostic testing for multidrug-resistant bacteria among patients with purulent skin infections did not reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescription of MRSA antibiotics for patients without an infection caused by the pathogen, according to research in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
The study followed 165 patients, 47 of whom tested positive for MRSA.
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Researchers determined from a model that rapid diagnostic testing should have decreased inappropriate MRSA antibiotic prescription from 58 percent to 6.5 percent, though rates only dropped to 45 percent in practice, according to the study.
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