Open AccessA retrospective evaluation of a multiplex polymerase chain reaction test directly applied to blood for the management of sepsis in the critically ill
Author(s) -
Shaheed Vally Omar,
AUTHOR_ID,
Stephanie Murphy,
R Gheevarghese,
N Poppleton
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
southern african journal of critical care/the southern african journal of critical care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.129
H-Index - 7
eISSN - 2078-676X
pISSN - 1562-8264
DOI - 10.7196/sajcc.2021.v37i3.495
Subject(s) - medicine , gold standard (test) , multiplex polymerase chain reaction , sepsis , critically ill , polymerase chain reaction , blood culture , retrospective cohort study , multiplex , microbiology and biotechnology , bioinformatics , antibiotics , gene , biology , biochemistry
Background. Blood culture (BC) is the established gold standard for microbiological diagnosis of bloodstream infection (BSI); however, its sensitivity is poor. Objectives. The primary objective was to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the Magicplex Sepsis Real-time Test, a multiplex polymerase chain reaction test (mPCR), and BC to detect BSIs. Secondary outcomes included determining the prevalence of BSIs. Methods. A retrospective review of a technical evaluation of the mPCR. Patients requiring BC had a blood sample collected for mPCR. Results. The respective sensitivity and specificity of mPCR for the detection of BSI were 50% (n=7/14) and 58% (n=18/31), while the sensitivity and specificity using BC were 36% (n=5/14) and 68% (n=21/31), respectively. The addition of mPCR to BC increased BSI detection during sepsis from 36% to 64%. Conclusion. The use of mPCR directly applied to blood may increase the detection of micro-organisms associated with BSIs in critically ill patients requiring BC investigation.