A Rapid Host Response Blood Test for Bacterial/Viral Infection Discrimination Using a Portable Molecular Diagnostic...

Area of Science:

• Infectious Disease
• Molecular Diagnostics
• Genomics

Background:

• Differentiating bacterial from viral infections is challenging, leading to overuse of antibiotics.
• Antibiotic overuse contributes significantly to the development of antimicrobial resistance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the performance of a novel host response (HR-B/V) assay for distinguishing bacterial from viral infections.
• To assess the utility of this assay as a diagnostic tool in clinical settings.

Main Methods:

• The study utilized a rapid, portable polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based test (HR-B/V assay on the Biomeme Franklin platform).
• Three cohorts of patients with suspected infections were tested: a training cohort, a technical correlation cohort, and a COVID-19 cohort.

Main Results:

• The Biomeme HR-B/V test demonstrated high accuracy in discriminating bacterial (84.5%) and viral infections.
• Excellent agreement was observed between the Biomeme HR-B/V test and a previously established BioFire HR-B/V test.
• The test showed high accuracy in identifying bacterial infections in patients with early-stage COVID-19.

Conclusions:

• The Biomeme HR-B/V test is a high-performing, rapid, and portable diagnostic tool.
• This assay shows promise as an antibiotic stewardship strategy for clinical use.
• The test effectively identifies patients unlikely to have bacterial infections, guiding appropriate treatment decisions.