Accelerated Bacterial Identification with MALDI-TOF MS Leads to Fewer Diagnostic Tests and Cost Savings

Rapid microbiology reporting can enhance both clinical and economic outcomes.

This three-year, quasi-experimental study, single-group pretest-posttest study, conducted at a university medical center, aimed to evaluate the clinical and economic impact of rapid microbiological identification reporting using MALDI-TOF MS. A total of 363 consecutive hospitalized patients with bacterial infections were evaluated, comparing a historical control group (CG, n = 183) with an intervention group (IG, n = 180). In the CG, microbiological information (bacterial identification and antibiotic susceptibility) was provided between 18:00 and 22:00 h, while in the IG, bacterial identification was reported between 12:00 and 14:00 h, and antibiotic susceptibility was reported between 18:00 and 22:00 h.

The IG demonstrated a significant reduction in the number of patients undergoing Microbiology (p = 0.01), Biochemistry (p = 0.05), C-Reactive Protein (p = 0.02), Radiological Tests (p = 0.05), Computed Tomography Tests (p = 0.04), and Pathology (p = 0.01). However, no statistically significant reduction was observed in economic costs related to microbiological testing (p = 0.76) or antibiotic consumption (p = 0.59). The timely reporting of microbiological identification to clinicians resulted in fewer patients undergoing additional diagnostic tests, ultimately contributing to reduced healthcare resource utilization without adversely affecting clinical outcomes.