Abstract:
Sepsis and septic shock are key contributors to mortality in critically ill patients and thus
prompt recognition and management thereof is central to achieving improved patient outcomes. Early initiation of appropriate antimicrobial therapy constitutes a crucial component of the management strategy and thus early identification of the causative pathogen
is essential in informing antimicrobial therapeutic choices. The BioFire FilmArray blood
culture identification (BCID) panel is a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved
rapid, multiplex polymerase chain reaction assay for use on positive blood cultures. This
study evaluated its clinical utility in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting, in terms of
amendment of empiric antimicrobial therapy in critically ill patients with sepsis. The assay
proved useful in this setting as final results were made available to clinicians significantly
earlier than with conventional culture methods. This, in turn, allowed for modification of
empirical antimicrobial therapy to more appropriate agents in 32% of patients. Additionally, the use of the BioFire FilmArray BCID panel permitted the prompt implementation of
additional infection prevention and control practices in a sizeable proportion (14%) of
patients in the study who were harbouring multidrug resistant pathogens. These findings
support the use of the BioFire FilmArray BCID panel as a valuable adjunct to conventional
culture methods for the diagnosis and subsequent management of critically ill patients
with sepsis.
