In a January 21 online paper in the Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, Stephen T.J. Ray of the University of Liverpool and colleagues note that identification often relies on microbial growth, which can take up to 24 hours. Definitive results may not be available for as long as 72 hours after the blood culture is first identified as being positive. This can lead to inadequate or unnecessary antimicrobial therapy.
The FilmArray is an automated multiplex polymerase chain reaction system. It has targets for 24 common pathogens, including Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, species of Candida, and antimicrobial resistance genes.
In this study for the majority of children, clinical decisions could be made within 24 hours of blood cultures being taken (the median time to positive blood culture was 15 hours plus one hour of turnaround time).
In the current study, she pointed out that use of the FilmArray encouraged the discontinuation of antibiotics for patients with organisms thought to be contaminants and encouraged clinicians "to change antibiotic therapy to an agent that would optimize treatment of the bacteria recovered earlier than would have happened had traditional culture and susceptibility testing been used."
Read more:
Blood Culture Panel Swiftly Identifies Pathogens in Children
Source: MedScape
Image: FilmArray
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