Great Basin is developing the Staph ID/R Blood Culture Panel which is a rapid, automated, DNA multiplex assay for simultaneous identification of Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus species and the detection of mecA gene directly from positive blood cultures.

The Great Basin advantage is that our results can provide species information.  Nearly one third of all positive blood cultures are contaminants—such as CoNS (Coagulase Negative Staphylococcus)—from inadequate skin or catheter lumen cleaning or during blood draw.  The likelihood CoNS is a true infection increases with the number of positive blood cultures determined to be GPCC by gram stain.  The use of our test should provide >99% PPV after only two blood draws speeding the diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

Poster: Great Basin’s Staph ID/R – A Novel Molecular Diagnostic Test for Simultaneous Identification of Staphylococcus Species and Detection of the mecA Gene Directly From Positive Blood Cultures

About Staph

Sepsis strikes 750,000 people annually in the US with high mortality rates and the leading cause are Staphylococcal blood stream infections. Timely diagnosis is critical to direct appropriate therapeutic choices.  Current culture-based methods for gram positive blood culture bottles require 18-48 hours after the automated culture system alarms positive.  As a result, clinicians often employ empiric treatment approaches which are often incorrect leading to longer lengths of stay and higher treatment costs.

The advantages of early diagnosis and treatment include:

• Rapid diagnosis has been shown to save $7000 and shorten length of stay 6.2 days for Staphylococcus aureus infections.  This can attributed to starting the appropriate drug regime 1.6 days sooner and removing treatment from patients who have been shown to have contaminated blood cultures.
• When CoNS is identified, better treatment decisions can be made; for patients with indwelling devices or who are immunocompromised, CoNS should be treated.  For less sick patients, treatment can be discontinued and the patient released, resulting in cost savings.
• Additionally, the mecA result for CoNS infections can direct therapy.  The majority of CoNS infections are methicillin-resistant and therefore clinicians tend to treat with vancomycin.  However, vancomycin is an inferior drug for methicillin-sensitive infections thus—for those determined to be sensitive—methicillin can be used leading to improved outcomes.