On 24th and 25th of October 2019, the kick-off meeting for WP4 of VALUE-Dx was hosted at the Julius Centre of Health Sciences and Primary Care of the UMC Utrecht in Zeist, the Netherlands.
Representatives from different community care settings, from the industry partners and from other work packages came together in preparation for the point prevalence audit survey (PPAS) which is planned to take place during the ‘high-peak’ winter season (January-March 2020) in 21 countries across Europe. The PPAS aims at describing the presentation and management of community-acquired acute respiratory tract infections (CA-ARTI). Furthermore, this PPAS is the first step for WP4 in designing the clinical trial testing various point-of-care diagnostics for CA-ARTI in community settings to better target antibiotic use and ultimately combat antimicrobial resistance.
Key highlights
• To build a European community care research network, the existing primary care network from PREPARE is being extended with eastern European countries and combined with research networks for A&E care in hospitals (COMBACTE), pediatric care (Penta) and long-term care (LOTTA-Net).
• Representatives from primary care networks from as many as 18 countries introduced their network and highlighted key differences with respect to health care delivery in their country, epidemiology of RTI and resistance, and the management of and available diagnostic testing for RTI. Partners from COMBACTE, Penta and LOTTA-Net shared insights in their networks and (research) experiences.
• The meeting featured a highly interactive session on methods and logistics of the PPAS to ensure flexibility and relevance to the different countries involved and meeting the needs of the four community settings.
• The industry partners bioMérieux, Abbott and Becton Dickinson showcased their point-of-care diagnostic products to be potentially included in the clinical trial.
• To enhance proper integration of all involved the evening started with a pub quiz with general questions from all over Europe, European song contest winners, and a section with VALUE-Dx related questions.
WP4 Team – Henri Bendelac, Susanne Emmerich, Theo Verheij, Frank Leus, Slawomir Chlabicz, Alike van der Velden, Siri Jensen, Christopher Butler, Ana Garcia Sangenis, Emily Bongard, Samuel Coenen, Joost Schotsman, Sheila Cárcel, Ihor Zastavnyi, Hrachuhi Ghazaryan, Julia Reh, Dudarenko Vitalii, Markela Koniordou, Akke Vellinga, Herman Goossens, Arnaud Gatignol, Christos Lionis, Bernadett Kovács, Lile Malania, Valerija Bralić Lang, Felicia Longobardi, Julia Anna Bielicki, Gioia Babini, Pascale Bruno
Countries participating in the PPAS
