Rapid Identification of Bloodstream Pathogens and Timely Reporting Resulting in Effective Antibiotic Interventions Optimizing Patient Care

Abstract Objectives Bloodstream infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Rapid identification of bloodstream pathogens is a critical laboratory practice that allows rapid transition to direct targeted therapy, providing timely and effective patient care. Here, we examined the utilization impact of Biofire blood culture identification panel in identifying bloodstream pathogens and subsequent implementation of treatment on patient care at our medical center. Methods Results of patients’ blood culture results and the subsequent medical interventions were reviewed. A policy of reviewing and reporting positive blood culture results every 2 hours was implemented and the results before and after the policy implementation were compared. Results We reviewed blood culture results from 288 patients during 1/20/2018 to 4/30/2018. In total, 96.5% of patients had antibiotic interventions. Based on the blood culture results, the interventions were adjusted: 32% changed in dosing, 32% escalated, 25% deescalated, and 11% added sensitivity. After the every 2-hour blood culture result reporting policy was implemented, the median time for physicians to order escalation dropped from 3 hours to 1 hour and median time to deescalate also dropped from 2 hours to 1 hour. Conclusion We were able to improve the timeliness of identifying bloodstream pathogens and support effective patient care by using the Biofire blood culture identification panel with timely result reports. Rapid identification of bloodstream pathogens had impacted patient outcomes in multiple ways, including reductions in mortality, morbidity, hospital length of stay, antibiotic use, and patient care cost.