Several previous studies analyzed the impact of rapid availability of rtPCR results on antibiotic use. In a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of 107 adults with lower RTI, antibiotics were partially or totally discontinued in 6 (11%) of 55 patients for whom rtPCR results were available, albeit without overall reduction in antibiotic treatment duration . In a controlled clinical trial enrolling 583 children with acute RTI, Wishaupt et al.  evaluated the diagnostic yield and effect of rapid communication of rtPCR results (within 12–36 h vs. 4 weeks after testing) and failed to show a significant influence on the duration of antibiotic treatment. In contrast, Brittain-Long et al.  demonstrated in a RCT with 406 adults that patients randomized to rapid rtPCR results received antibiotics less frequently for acute RTI in a primary care setting during their initial visit (4.5% vs. 12.3%; p = 0.01). However, at the 10-day follow-up the prescription rates were similar again (13.9% vs. 17.2%; p = 0.36) . Contrary to these findings, a retrospective pre-post study of 1136 children showed that the introduction of an expanded multiplex rtPCR had a shorter turnaround time and decreased the duration of antibiotic use (2.8 vs. 3.2 days; p = 0.003) without reducing the proportion of antibiotic prescriptions .