Rapid identification of bacteria from respiratory samples of patients hospitalized in intensive care units, with FilmArray Pneumonia Panel Plus

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the performance of FilmArray Pneumonia Panel Plus (FA-PP) for the detection of typical bacterial pathogens in respiratory samples from patients hospitalized in intensive care units (ICUs). Methods: FA-PP was implemented for clinical use in the microbiology laboratory in March 2020. A retrospective analysis on a consecutive cohort of adult patients hospitalized in ICUs between March 2020 and May 2020 was undertaken. The respiratory samples included sputum, blind bronchoalveolar lavage (BBAL) and protected specimen brush (PSB). Conventional culture and FA-PP were performed in parallel. Results: In total, 147 samples from 92 patients were analysed; 88% had coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). At least one pathogen was detected in 46% (68/147) of samples by FA-PP and 39% (57/147) of samples by culture. The overall percentage agreement between FA-PP and culture results was 98% (93–100%). Bacteria with semi-quantitative FA-PP results ≥105 copies/mL for PSB samples, ≥106 copies/mL for BBAL samples and ≥107 copies/mL for sputum samples reached clinically significant thresholds for growth in 90%, 100% and 91% of cultures, respectively. FA-PP detected resistance markers, including mecA/C, blaCTX-M and blaVIM. The median turnaround time was significantly shorter for FA-PP than for culture. Conclusions: FA-PP may constitute a faster approach to the diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia in patients hospitalized in ICUs.

Keywords

• FilmArray Pneumonia plus
• SARS-CoV-2
• Bacterial pneumonia
• Blind bronchoalveolar lavage
• Rapid diagnostics
• Community-acquired pneumonia