Rapid Diagnostics of Joint Infections Using IS-Pro

Area of Science:

• Molecular diagnostics
• Infectious disease microbiology

Background:

• Traditional microbiological culture for bone and joint infections (BJI) has limitations, including long turnaround times and challenges in identifying certain bacterial species.
• Rapid molecular methods are needed to overcome these diagnostic obstacles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the diagnostic performance of IS-pro, a broad-scope molecular technique, for the rapid detection and identification of bacteria in bone and joint infections.
• To compare the species-level identification and bacterial load assessment of IS-pro against conventional culture methods.

Main Methods:

• IS-pro, a molecular test identifying most bacteria to the species level, was applied to 591 synovial fluid samples from patients with suspected joint infections.
• The test also quantifies human DNA as a measure of leukocyte levels.
• Results were compared with standard microbiological culture.

Main Results:

• IS-pro demonstrated high agreement with culture at the sample level (90.6% positive, 87.7% negative).
• Species-level positive percent agreement was 80%.
• IS-pro provided additional bacterial detections and comparable bacterial and human DNA loads to routine diagnostics.

Conclusions:

• IS-pro shows excellent performance for the rapid diagnosis of bacterial bone and joint infections.
• The technique offers a significant improvement over traditional culture methods in terms of speed and scope.
• IS-pro's ability to identify bacteria and quantify human DNA supports its utility in clinical settings for BJI diagnostics.