In a five-year study, VERIGENE® BC-GP Test shrinks time to results by as much as 24 hours
In a new publication, medical professionals from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the University of Southern California report results from a comprehensive five-year study of the VERIGENE® Gram-Positive (BC-GP) Blood Culture Test. They found that the “[VERIGENE] BC-GP panel demonstrated excellent performance” and that its reliable detection of genes conferring drug resistance allows healthcare providers to “confidently de-escalate antimicrobial therapy” when appropriate, according to the paper.
Largest Performance Study
Authors Chairut Vareechon, Javier Mestas, Claudia Polanco, and Jennifer Dien Bard published their findings about the VERIGENE BC-GP panel after an in-depth study of its use in the hospital since implementation in 2013. They selected the test because of its ability to detect 12 targets (genus and species) and three resistance markers (mecA, vanA, and vanB). Their five-year analysis spans 1,636 VERIGENE BC-GP tests, all triggered by positive blood culture bottles and Gram-positive stains. “To our knowledge, we present the largest study analyzing the performance of the [VERIGENE] BC-GP panel since implementation,” the authors wrote.
Of the 1,636 samples tested, the VERIGENE BC-GP panel detected one or more targets in 1,520 of them, or nearly 93%. Almost 5% of the total cultures were ones where VERIGENE BC-GP correctly detected no targets because the pathogen present was not included in the panel. “Of the 1,636 positive blood cultures with [VERIGENE] BC-GP results, there was 99.8% [positive percent agreement (PPA)] compared to conventional methods for identification to genus and 94.3% PPA to species level,” Vareechon et al. report.
Focus on Drug Resistance
A significant focus of the study was on drug resistance. “Previous studies have been fundamental in directly correlating rapid identification and resistance gene detection with improved antimicrobial optimization, length of stay, and overall outcome,” the authors note. “The greatest contributor to these positive outcomes is the early detection of resistance markers that allow for immediate optimization of antimicrobial therapy, highlighting the importance of a highly accurate and trustworthy test.” In this study, the VERIGENE BC-GP panel identified pathogens and detected resistance markers rapidly, reducing the time to results by as much as 24 hours.
The team analyzed resistance marker results from the VERIGENE BC-GP panel, comparing them to data from conventional antimicrobial susceptibility testing. MRSA, MRSE, and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium all had positive percent agreement of 100% and negative percent agreement of 99.3%. “The [VERIGENE] BC-GP panel demonstrated excellent performance in pediatric patients for the identification of Gram-positive organisms and prediction of antimicrobial susceptibility profiles from positive blood cultures,” the authors reported. “This should alleviate any need for providers to stall de-escalation until full susceptibility results are available.”
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Related Content
- A 5-Year Study of the Performance of the VERIGENE® Gram-Positive Blood Culture Panel in a Pediatric Hospital [Study Summary]
- The Pathologist: Labs Embrace Rapid Testing to Address Antibiotic Resistance [Blog]
- Investment Needed in Antimicrobial Stewardship [Blog]
- Outcomes of Rapid Identification for Gram-Positive Bacteremia in Combination with Antibiotic Stewardship at a Community-based Hospital System [Pharmacotheraphy Download]
- Clinical Impact of Laboratory Implementation of VERIGENE® BC-GN Microarray-Based Assay for Detection of Gram-Negative Bacteria in Positive Blood Cultures
[J Clin Microbiol] - Impact of Antimicrobial Stewardship and Rapid Microarray Testing on Patients with Gram-Negative Bacteremia [Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis]
