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Better scans could cut unnecessary antibiotics in elderly pneumonia cases

NCT ID NCT04978116

Diagnosis Sponsor: University Hospital, Geneva Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed This study
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026

Summary

This study tested whether using a low-dose CT scan or lung ultrasound is more accurate than the usual chest X-ray for diagnosing pneumonia in people over 65. About 473 older adults with suspected pneumonia in the emergency room took part. The goal was to see if better imaging could reduce incorrect antibiotic use and improve patient outcomes.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

473 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Jun 2021

Finished

Jul 2025

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

65 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion criteria: * Aged \>65 years * Suspected community-acquired or nursing-home acquired pneumonia consulting to the emergency room with at least one respiratory symptom (new or increasing among: cough, purulent sputum, pleuritic chest pain, dyspnea, respiratory rate \>20/min, focal auscultatory findings or oxygen saturation \<90% on room air) AND at least one symptom or laboratory finding compatible with an infection (temperature \>37.8°C or \<36.0°C, C reactive protein (CRP) \>10 mg/L, PCT \>0.25 µg/L, leukocyte count \>10 G/L with \>85% neutrophils or band forms) * Signed informed consent * In the oldest old (patients aged \>80 years), the presence of acute delirium or unexplained acute fall can substitute for the presence of either the respiratory or the infectious symptom Exclusion Criteria: * Immediate admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) * Pneumonia in the past 3 months * PCR or antigenic test positive for SARS-CoV-2 in the 3 past weeks * Transfer from another hospital with a diagnosis of pneumonia * CXR or thoracic CT scan or US already done during the present episode * Immediate contrast-enhanced CT scan needed * Advanced care planning limiting therapy to comfort care only * Prisoners * Known uncontrolled psychiatric disorders * Previous enrollment into the current study.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

pneumonia

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Elderly infection Pneumonia

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève

    Geneva, Switzerland

  • Inselspital

    Bern, Switzerland

  • Ospedale regionale di Lugano

    Lugano, Switzerland

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