RASCALS: Rapid Assay for Sick Children With Acute Lung Infection Study

Lower Respiratory Tract infections are a common cause of admission to the intensive careunit. Children routinely receive antibiotics until the tests confirm whether theinfection is bacterial or viral. The exclusion of bacterial infection may take 48 hoursor longer for culture tests on biological samples to be completed. In many cases, theresults may be inconclusive or negative if the patient has already received antibioticsprior to the sample being taken.A rapid assay to detect the most likely cause of infection could improve the speed withwhich antibiotic therapy is rationalised or curtailed.This study aims to assess whether a new genetic testing kit which can identify thepresence of bacteria and viruses within hours rather than days is a feasible tool inimproving antibiotic prescribing and rationalisation of therapy in critically illchildren with suspected lower respiratory tract infection.