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Justin J. Choi, MD, on Rapid Diagnostic Testing in Suspected Meningitis

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Abstract

A retrospective analysis of pre-post intervention data in 206 adults showed that implementation of the FilmArray ME multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) panel reduced the duration of empiric antibiotic therapy by a median of 22 hours compared with traditional microbiological testing, reported Justin J. Choi, MD, of Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, and colleagues. Use of the ME multiplex PCR panel, which targets 14 of the most common bacterial, viral, and, fungal causes of central nervous system infections, also reduced the time to targeted therapy by a median of 52 hours, they stated in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. Because most patients with suspected bacterial meningitis eventually receive an alternative diagnosis, we found that use of a multiplex PCR assay to rapidly exclude bacterial etiologies has the potential to mitigate the harms of prolonged and unnecessary exposure to broad-spectrum antibiotics." These include the risk of both false-positive and false-negative results, the lack of clinical validation for most targets, the need for confirmation testing for some targets, the lack of adaptation for nosocomial infections or immunocompromised patients, and finally, the cost associated with PCR panel testing."
Key Data

  • Publication Date
    24 November 2021
  • Primary Author
    Kristin Jenkins
  • Source
    MedPage Today
  • Language
    English
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