Background: Rapid diagnosis and identification of pathogens are pivotal for appropriate therapy of blood stream infections. The T2Bacteria^{®}Panel, a culture-independent assay for the detection of Escherichia coli , Enterococcus faecium , Staphylococcus aureus , Klebsiella pneumoniae , Acinetobacter baumannii , and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in blood, was evaluated under real-world conditions as a point-of-care method including patients admitted to the internal medicine ward due to suspected blood stream infection. Methods: Patients were assigned to two groups (standard of care—SOC vs. T2). In the SOC group 2 × 2 blood culture samples were collected, in the T2 group the T2Bacteria^{®}Panel was performed additionally for pathogen identification. Results: A total of 94 patients were included. Pathogens were detected in 19 of 50 patients (38%) in the T2 group compared to 16 of 44 patients (36.4%) in the SOC group. The median time until pathogen detection was significantly shorter in the T2 group (4.5 h vs. 60 h, p < 0.001), as well as the time until targeted therapy (antibiotic with the narrowest spectrum and maximal effectiveness) (6.4 h vs. 42.2 h, p = 0.043). Conclusions: The implementation of the T2Bacteria^{®}Panel for patients with sepsis leads to an earlier targeted antimicrobial therapy resulting in earlier sufficient treatment and decreased excessive usage of broad-spectrum antimicrobials.
【저자키워드】 bloodstream infection, culture-independent diagnostics, T2 magnetic resonance, T2Bacteria®Panel,