The availability and use of diagnostic tests for the management of acute childhood infections in Europe: the protocol for a cross-sectional survey of paediatricians.

Introduction: Fever is a frequent reason of consultation in children, but correctly identifying the few febrile children with potentially severe bacterial infections is difficult. This encourages clinicians to prescribe empirical antibiotics and subject children to extensive and sometimes invasive testing. Rapid point of care tests (POCTs) are recommended internationally to reduce the use of antibiotics and medical resources. The extent of the availability and use of POCTs by paediatricians in Europe is unclear, but appears to vary widely across countries. The aim of this study is to document the availability and use of rapid POCTs for the clinical management of acute childhood infections and to identify factors associated with the variability of their adoption across Europe. Methods and analysis: The study is an online cross-sectional survey of paediatricians working in primary care and hospitals in more than 24 European countries. Participants were recruited through several European research and clinical networks Descriptive statistics will be used to describe the availability of rapid POCTs to paediatricians and the use of rapid POCTs in a clinical scenario of an infant with undifferentiated fever. Weighted regression analyses will identify factors of the availability and use of rapid POCTs across the included countries. Ethics and dissemination: Participating to this anonymous survey does not carry any risk. Ethical approval was obtained from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Ethics Committee. The results of the survey will be presented at European paediatrics conferences and submitted for publication in peer-reviewed medical journals. This study will contribute to understanding the reasons for the variability in the adoption of rapid POCTs across different countries. The findings from this study will be useful for clinicians, health services and the industry developing and implementing rapid POCTs, particularly for the clinical management of febrile children.