New Clinical Laboratory DNA Test Identifies Sepsis Patients in Just 18 Hours
Researchers say Mobidiag’s microarray-based diagnostic test technology looks promising
There’s a new DNA-based microarray platform that could speed identification of blood-borne pathogens. By allowing clinical laboratories to deliver test results in just 18 hours, use of this new microarray could improve early detection and management of sepsis patients.
In a study headed by Päivi Tissari, M.D., of the Division of Clinical Microbiology, Helsinki University Hospital Laboratory in Finland, the Prove-it sepsis assay, manufactured by Helsinki-based Mobidiag, demonstrated 94.7% clinical sensitivity, 98.8% specificity, along with 100% sensitivity and specificity for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia. The conventional process of growing a culture—the medical laboratory’s gold standard—typically takes between one to three days to become positive and two more days to identify the bacteria and their antibiotic sensitivity patterns. Mobidiag’s Prove-it sepsis assay returns results in only 18 hours.
