Bacteraemia and fungaemia in cystic fibrosis patients with febrile pulmonary exacerbation: a prospective observational study

Abstract

Abstract Background Bloodstream pathogens can be identified by multiplex PCR (SeptiFast (SF)) or blood culture (BC); whether these pathogens are present in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients during febrile pulmonary exacerbations (FPE) has not been sufficiently studied. Methods In this prospective observational study, blood from CF patients experiencing FPE was tested with SF and BC before the initiation of antibiotic treatment. Results After contaminants had been excluded, 9 of 72 blood samples tested positive by BC or SF. SF exclusively detected four pathogens; BC, one. Pulmonary pathogen transmission was likely in all cases except for 2 cases of candidaemia, which were believed to be caused by catheter-related infections. For three cases, test results caused us to change the antibiotic regimen. Sensitivity (85.7% vs. 42.9%) and negative predictive value (98.4% vs. 87.0%) tended to be higher for SF than for BC. Conclusions The results of SF and BC show that bacteraemia and fungaemia are present in CF patients during FPE and may affect antibiotic therapy. SF can help rule out catheter-related bloodstream infections.