blood tests to ensure proper use of antibiotics

To deal with stock shortages, the government presented measures on Wednesday to use antibiotics wisely. In particular, he recommends that doctors use blood tests to better target treatments.

How to combat the overprescription and overconsumption of antibiotics? According to its new roadmap, the government wishes in particular “promote the proper use of medicines, including antibiotics, in order to guarantee controlled and relevant use.” In 2023, nearly 5,000 reports and risks of stock shortages have been recorded by the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM). This roadmap, presented by the executive on Wednesday February 21 and covering the period 2024-2027, proposes measures to anticipate drug shortages. Among them, blood tests as a means of ensuring the correct use of antibiotics.

“We consume a lot of antibiotics in France, too many antibiotics”admitted Thursday on franceinfo Philippe Besset, president of the Federation of Pharmaceutical Unions of France (FSPF). “This could be reduced by new processes which would ask doctors or pharmacists to check whether the antibiotic is really useful”, assured the pharmacist. “What we are going to do is allow doctors to do tests with a small drop of blood, in order to determine whether the disease is indeed bacterial and in which case we will prescribe the antibiotic., he specifies. A “test” Who “could, subsequently, be done in a pharmacy”according to him.

Trod, rapid diagnostic orientation tests

The government’s roadmap specifies that one of the measures is indeed “to experiment with new devices”. Among these : “the use of Trod CRP”, an acronym that stands for “CRP Diagnostic Guidance Rapid Tests.” These blood tests are similar to the lancing device that diabetics use to monitor their glucose levels. They could be used by “general practitioners in cases of acute, upper or lower respiratory infections, as an aid to the prescription of antibiotics.”

“The ideaexplains Xavier Grang, vice-president of MG France, a union of general practitioners, it involves taking a drop of blood from the patient’s finger and placing it on a strip which is inserted into a small machine so that it can be analyzed. Schematically, he adds, if the result is high it is bacterial and requires an antibiotic. If it’s low, it’s viral and doesn’t require antibiotics.”

“The profession is ready for that”

Blood tests to check the bacterial or viral origin of a respiratory infection are already practiced elsewhere in Europe, “in Germany and Scandinavian countries”specifies Xavier Grang of MG France. “In France, it’s coming”adds the president of the doctors’ union, Agnès Giannotti. “These tests will be useful when we have doubts, she nuances, sometimes there is no doubt as to the viral or bacterial origin.” But “we’re up for it, the profession is ready for that”assures Agnès Giannotti for whom it is a good thing to fight against the shortage of antibiotics.

However, according to the practitioner, questions remain unanswered: “Do we still need machines to carry out these tests: who finds them, who buys them?” she questions. Doctors and pharmacists can already use a “Trod of angina” by saliva, and a “Trod of cystitis” by urine sample, which make it possible to detect the nature of these infections and prescribe the appropriate treatment.