Cost-Effectiveness of Automated Blood Culture Systems: Comparison of BACT/ALERT VIRTUO and BD BACTEC FX from a...

The BACT/ALERT® VIRTUO® system (VIRTUO system) and BD BACTEC™ FX (FX system) can rapidly detect microbial growth in patients with bloodstream infections (BSIs). The cost-effectiveness model presented in this study compared the estimated economic and clinical consequences of adopting these systems.

A decision tree framework with a one-year time horizon, for a hypothetical population of 10,044 patients was developed to estimate differences in clinical and economic outcomes between the VIRTUO and FX systems. Outcomes included hospital-based mortality, hospital length of stay (LOS) and costs, and total costs (USD, $) for 2023. One-way sensitivity (OWSA) and scenario analyses were performed to evaluate the robustness of the model.

From a US provider's perspective, the base case showed a reduction in mortality rate (VIRTUO system: 18.03%; FX system: 19.67%) and cumulative hospital LOS (VIRTUO system: 12,804 days; FX system: 12,871 days) for patients with blood cultures tested with the VIRTUO system compared to the FX system. Total cost reduction from a provider perspective, led to estimated cost savings of $216,062 per year with the adoption of the VIRTUO system. In the scenario analysis, when the bottle cost of the VIRTUO system increased or decreased by 50%, the testing costs between the VIRTUO and FX systems differed by 35% from the base case. OWSA showed the positivity rate, proportion of patients receiving empirical treatment and septic shock hospital costs were the most influential variables for the model.

Adopting the VIRTUO systems by hospitals has the potential to improve patient-related outcomes and economic savings.