Background:
The Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Microbiology Division, in conjunction with the Antibiotic Stewardship Program, will implement a rapid molecular diagnostic assay for use directly on positive blood cultures with Gram-positive organisms. The results from GenMark ePlex® Blood Culture Identification Gram-Positive (BCID-GP) are intended to be interpreted in conjunction with Gram stain results and aid in the diagnosis of bloodstream infection when used in conjunction with other clinical information. Additional molecular panels, Gram negative and fungal, will be implemented at a later date.
Effective date: July 15, 2021
Methodology and reporting:
The ePlex BCID-GP Panel is a qualitative nucleic acid multiplex in vitro diagnostic test on positive blood cultures intended for simultaneous qualitative detection and identification of multiple potentially pathogenic gram-positive bacterial organisms and select determinants associated with antimicrobial resistance. The BCID-GP Panel is performed directly on blood culture samples identified as positive by a continuous monitoring blood culture system and which contain gram-positive organisms. The ePlex Gram-positive panel includes the following organisms and resistance gene targets: Bacillus cereus group, Bacillus subtilis group, Corynebacterium spp., Cutibacterium (Propionibacterium) acnes, Enterococcus spp., Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus spp., Listeria spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Micrococcus spp., Staphylococcus spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus lugdunensis, Streptococcus spp., Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus anginosus group, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, and genes mecA, mecC, vanA and vanB.
Additional resistance mechanisms not detected by this test are very uncommon. Negative results in the setting of a suspected bloodstream infection may be due to infection with pathogens that are not detected by this test.
The ePlex BCID-GP result will be reported in Epic in real time, approximately 3 hours after the positive Gram stain has been detected and reported.
Test code:
CULBLD: Culture, Blood (Aerobic and Anaerobic Bacteria)
No additional order is needed. The ePlex BCID-Panel will be automatically performed on the first positive blood culture per patient.
Turnaround time (TAT):
STAT: 3 hours after a positive Gram stain result
A summary of all tests offered by our laboratory services can be found here:
http://www.pathology.uci.edu/services/index.asp
Sincerely,
Cassiana Bittencourt, MD
Director
Division of Clinical Microbiology
Edwin S. Monuki, MD, PhD
Chair
Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Lauri D. Thrupp, MD
Professor of Medicine Emeritus
Senior Hospital Epidemiologist, Consultant Clinical Microbiology Laboratory
Steven Park, MD
Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine
Director, Antibiotic Stewardship Program
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