{
  "abstract": "Objective This study aimed to understand hospital doctors’ priorities (target use cases and aetiologies) for the development of a new rapid diagnostic test for patients with fever.Design A cross-sectional online survey.Setting Europe-wide.Participants Secondary and tertiary care doctors involved in patient assessment and diagnosis across Europe.Intervention Online survey from April to September 2024.Main outcome measures Importance of developing a new test on a scale of 1–10 for up to 19 ‘use cases’ (types of febrile presentations in specific demographic groups): use case scores and ranks and differences across subgroups of respondents, with free text to capture additional suggestions; respondents’ preferences (multiple choice) regarding which aetiologies should be included in a new test.Results 265 respondents from 30 European countries (out of 270 starting the survey) were included in the analysis. Top priorities included febrile immunocompromised patients and fever without a focus for both paediatric and adult use cases, and 1–3 months old febrile infants. Rankings were similar across clinician subgroups despite some differences in average scores. 92% (243/263), 95% CI 89% to 95%, of respondents would find a ‘generic’ test for bacterial aetiology useful, even if it does not differentiate between Gram-positive and Gram-negative aetiologies. 54% (63/116), 95% CI 45% to 63%, of respondents would find a ‘generic’ test for inflammatory aetiology useful when seeking to diagnose children for whom Kawasaki’s disease (KD) is on the differential, even in the absence of any KD-specific test, 83% (96/116), 95% CI 75% to 89%, would find such a ‘generic’ test useful if they could use it alongside a KD test when desired.Conclusion Clinicians prioritise the most vulnerable patients (because of age or comorbidities) and unclear presentations (fever without a focus) for the development of a new fever diagnostic test. Even relatively simple (eg, bacterial, inflammatory) tests could provide added value to most clinicians.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Gabrielle Bonnet"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK",
        "Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, England, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Maryke Joanne Nielsen"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, England, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Anna M Foss"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Alex Lewin"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, England, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Ruud Gerard Nijman"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK",
        "Institut Pasteur de Dakar, Dakar, Dakar Region, Senegal"
      ],
      "name": "Elizabeth Fitchett"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK",
        "Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Liverpool, England, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Enitan Carrol"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK",
        "St Mary’s Imperial College Hospital, London, England, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Shunmay Yeung"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [],
      "name": "the DIAMONDS consortium"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Priorities for the development of a new rapid diagnostic test for patients with fever: a cross-sectional online survey among hospital physicians across Europe",
  "uid": "40f29167-6d2a-5801-a15c-67422f87ebca"
}