Xpert MRSA/SA BC

Diagnosing blood stream infections begins with blood cultures. Traditional culture methods from positive blood cultures can add days to a final diagnosis, forcing clinicians to make therapeutic decisions with less than complete information. With S. aureus and MRSA being major pathogens in blood cultures, Cepheid's Xpert^® MRSA/SA blood culture test is able to provide results in less than one hour from a positive blood culture, saving the physician crucial hours in making appropriate therapeutic decisions. Coupled with the simplicity of Cepheid's GeneXpert^®, results can now be available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Runs On: GeneXpert System

Problem

Blood Stream Infections require rapid and targeted interventions. Staphylococcus aureus is a leading cause of bacteraemia and nosocomial infections — infections that in many countries are further aggravated by a high incidence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Staphylococcal bacteraemia is a life-threatening condition with a high mortality, the consequence of a wide variety of initially localized infections, including those of surgical sites and wounds (e.g. diabetic ulcers) as well as indwelling devices, and infections of the urinary and the respiratory tract. A rapid differentiation of S. aureus from MRSA and coagulase-negative staphylococci in blood cultures has become of utmost importance to enable physicians to initiate appropriate treatment as soon as possible.

Solution

After the recognition of a blood culture positive for gram positive cocci in clusters (GPCC), standard culture methods require at least 24 to 48 hours for recovery, identification, and the determination of methicillin resistance of S. aureus. As the therapy of choice significantly differs for S. aureus, MRSA, and Coagulase Negative Staphylococcus (CoNS), also important nosocomial pathogens, a rapid and reliable test that can provide around the clock results, confirming methicillin-susceptible vs. methicillin-resistant S. aureus or excluding the presence of S. aureus directly from positive blood culture, provides valuable immediate information for clinical decision-making.

Impact

The use of Xpert MRSA/SA Blood Culture directly from GPCC-positive blood culture samples to detect bacteraemia caused by S. aureus and MRSA, should improve the overall management of patient with staphylococcal bacteraemia: reducing mortality, facilitating infection control measures, and decreasing empirical use of vancomycin. This will enable the physician to favor more efficacious therapeutic choices (e.g., Ÿ-lactams), and reducing the likeliness of further antibiotic resistance development, as well as the length of hospitalization and costs associated with bloodstream infections. Xpert MRSA/SA - the only truly rapid real-time PCR test for MRSA/SA detection from blood culture.