POS-ARI-ER

Establishing the cause of Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) at the time of presentation is difficult with currently available diagnostic approaches, resulting in unnecessary use of antibiotics in many patients and enhancing antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

In this study, we cover pathogens with proven epidemic potential such as influenza viruses and coronaviruses. Seasonal outbreaks of acute viral respiratory infections put European health services under pressure every winter, with an increased burden when new influenza variants arise. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the catastrophic impact of newly emerged viral respiratory pathogens, with huge increases in direct and indirect mortality and morbidity. The conduct of clinical research and clinical trials during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe has been extremely challenging. Health services were rapidly overwhelmed, with little time and no spare capacity for research.

For this reason, the primary objective of this study is to provide an infrastructure capable of rapidly implementing Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) and other clinical studies related to the diagnosis and treatment of ARI. The primary research objective is to compare the effectiveness of different diagnostic and therapeutic practices used routinely on clinical outcomes. The secondary objectives include descriptive analyses related to patient characteristics, complications, outcome and risk factors. 

Updates

JUNE 2023 • Patient recruitment has commenced. The first three ER sites began enrolling patients on 21 June.