Acute Respiratory Infections and Antibiotics
Acute respiratory infections, producing symptoms such as cough, sore throat, runny nose and congestion, are the most common reason patients seek care worldwide.3-5
The majority of acute respiratory infections are caused by viruses and do not require antibiotics, yet antibiotics are prescribed in up to 50% of cases.6 The overlapping symptoms of acute respiratory infections make it challenging for clinicians to differentiate bacterial from non-bacterial infections.
Implications of Unnecessary Antibiotic Use
There are more than 200 million antibiotic prescriptions written each year in the outpatient setting, approximately 30-50% of which are unnecessary.6-7 Unnecessary antibiotic use leads to increased antibiotic resistance and increased costs.8

FebriDx® Can Help
FebriDx® is intended to be used in urgent and emergency care settings. FebriDx® offers rapid, point-of-care results that aid in diagnosing a bacterial infection,9 which could have a direct impact on the spread of resistant bacteria.

Patient Satisfaction
Patients often insist on antibiotics. Since most coughs, colds, sore throats, and runny noses are caused by non-bacterial infections, antibiotics can often be prescribed unnecessarily FebriDx® produces a tangible test result that can be shared with the patient, thereby improving patient satisfaction and confidence in their treatment recommendations.

With a 99% Negative Predictive Value,9 FebriDx® can help rule out bacterial infection and prevent inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions.


  1. National Infection & Death Estimates for Antimicrobial Resistance. 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/national-estimates.html.
  2. Harris AM, Hicks LA, Qaseem A. Appropriate antibiotic use for acute respiratory tract infection in adults: advice for high-value care from the American College of Physicians and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ann Intern Med. 2016;164(6):425-34.
  3. Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/biggest-threats.html
  4. Renati S, Linder J. Necessity of office visits for acute respiratory infections in primary care. Fam Pract. 2016;33(3):312-17.
  5. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ahcd/ namcs_summary/2018-namcs-web-tables-508.pdf
  6. Fleming-Dutra, K. E., Hersh, A. L., Shapiro, D. J., Bartoces, M., Enns, E. A., File, T. M., ... & Hicks, L. A. (2016). Prevalence of inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions among US ambulatory care visits, 2010-2011. JAMA. 315(17), 1864-1873.
  7. CDC: 1 in 3 antibiotic prescriptions unnecessary (2016) https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2016/p0503-unnecessary-prescriptions.html
  8. Llor C, Bjerrum L. Antimicrobial resistance: risk associated with antibiotic overuse and initiatives to reduce the problem. Ther Adv Drug Saf. 2014;5(6): 229-41.
  9. Shapiro NI, Filbin MR, Hou PC, Kurz MC, Han JH, Aufderheide TP, Ward MA, Pulia MS, Birkhahn RH, Diaz JL, Hughes TL, Harsch MR, Bell A, Suarez-Cuervo C, Sambursky R. Diagnostic Accuracy of a Bacterial and Viral Biomarker Point-of-Care Test in the Outpatient Setting. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Oct 3;5(10):e2234588. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.34588. PMID: 36255727; PMCID: PMC9579916.
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