Table 1.
MCDA results
| Impact on patient outcomes | Risk to the patient | Impact on decision to start antibiotic therapy | Time to clinical relevant result | Test availability | Need of professionals experience | Cost | Sum score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight | 7.7 | 7 | 6.9 | 6 | 5.7 | 4 | 2.7 | |
| Imaging techniques | ||||||||
| X-ray | 55.8 | 49 | 53.5 | 54.2 | 23 | 16.2 | 251.7 | |
| Chest CT | 69.3 | 47.3 | 55.2 | 32.8 | 20 | 6.8 | 231.4 | |
| Lung ultrasound | 48.1 | 56 | 46.6 | 37 | 17 | 18.2 | 222.9 | |
| None | 18.8 | 22.8 | 17.2 | 18.5 | 40 | 26.3 | 143.6 | |
| Microbiological tests | ||||||||
| Blood cultures | 57.8 | 67.7 | 50.6 | 49.4 | 30 | 19.3 | 274.8 | |
| Endotracheal aspirate culture | 33.4 | 59.5 | 42.6 | 53.2 | 33.3 | 24.8 | 246.8 | |
| Mini-bronchoalveolar lavage culture | 47.5 | 46.7 | 40.3 | 30.4 | 26 | 17.1 | 208 | |
| Bronchoalveolar lavage culture | 53.9 | 28 | 54.1 | 31.4 | 22.6 | 14.9 | 204.9 | |
| Telescopic catheter | 51.3 | 31 | 35.7 | 25.7 | 20 | 13 | 176.7 | |
| Transbronchial biopsy | 25.7 | 11.7 | 18.4 | 9.5 | 8 | 5.4 | 78.7 | |
| Biomarkers | ||||||||
| CRP | 63.8 | 53.2 | 48 | 19.3 | 184.3 | |||
| PCT | 66 | 57.2 | 41.5 | 16.6 | 181.3 | |||
| WBC | 40.7 | 53.2 | 52.1 | 20.4 | 166.4 | |||
| Pro-adrenomedullin | 47.3 | 27.6 | 21.2 | 10 | 106.1 | |||
| None | 17.6 | 33.5 | 27.7 | 23.9 | 102.7 | |||
| IL6 | 39.6 | 28.6 | 18.7 | 9.6 | 96.5 | |||
| IL10 | 33 | 22.7 | 18.7 | 8.1 | 82.5 | |||
| DIAGNOSTIC techniques | ||||||||
| Gram stain | 52.9 | 51 | 49.2 | 17.5 | 21.9 | 192.5 | ||
| MALDI-TOF | 59.7 | 42.7 | 46.3 | 18.5 | 12.8 | 180 | ||
| PCR tests | 59.7 | 45.8 | 39.2 | 23 | 9.8 | 177.5 | ||
| Gene Expert ® for ESBL | 56.8 | 39.8 | 32.8 | 24 | 9.5 | 162.9 | ||
| Multiplex PCR | 52 | 34.5 | 28.5 | 22 | 9.8 | 146.8 | ||
| Serological tests | 25 | 21.7 | 29.9 | 25 | 16.5 | 118.1 | ||
| Rapid automated microscopy | 29.8 | 27 | 15.7 | 19 | 15.5 | 107 | ||
| None | 2.9 | 7.5 | 15 | 31 | 25.6 | 82 | ||