Rapid Identification of Pathogens from Positive Blood Cultures by Multiplex PCR using the FilmArray System

• Published in: Diagnostic microbiology and infectious disease Vol. 74; no. 4; pp. 349 - 355
• Main Authors: Blaschke, Anne J., Heyrend, Caroline, Byington, Carrie L., Fisher, Mark A., Barker, Elizabeth, Garrone, Nicholas F., Thatcher, Stephanie A., Pavia, Andrew T., Barney, Trenda, Alger, Garrison D., Daly, Judy A., Ririe, Kirk M., Ota, Irene, Poritz, Mark A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 19-09-2012
• ISSN: 0732-8893; 1879-0070
• DOI: 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2012.08.013

Sepsis is a leading cause of death. Rapid and accurate identification of pathogens and antimicrobial resistance directly from blood culture could improve patient outcomes.
The FilmArray® (FA; Idaho Technology, Inc., Salt Lake City, UT) Blood Culture (BC) panel can identify > 25 pathogens and 4 antibiotic resistance genes from positive blood cultures in 1 hour. We compared a development version of the panel to conventional culture and susceptibility testing on 102 archived blood cultures from adults and children with bacteremia. Of 109 pathogens identified by culture, 95% were identified by FA. Among 111 prospectively collected blood cultures, the FA identified 84 of 92 pathogens (91%) covered by the panel. Among 25
Staphylococcus aureus
and 21
Enterococcus
species detected, FA identified all culture-proven MRSA and VRE.
The FA BC panel is an accurate method for the rapid identification of pathogens and resistance genes from blood culture.