Potential value of a rapid syndromic multiplex PCR for the diagnosis of native and prosthetic joint infections: a real-world evidence study
Stéphanie Pascual, Brooklyn A. Noble, Nusreen Ahmad-Saeed, Catherine Aldridge, Simone Ambretti, Sharon Amit, Rachel Annett, Shaan Ashk O’Shea, Anna Maria Barbui, Gavin Barlow, Lucinda Barrett, Mario Berth, Alessandro Bondi, Nicola Boran, Sara E. Boyd, Catarina Chaves, Martin Clauss, Peter Davies, Ileana T. Dianzo-Delgado, Jaime Esteban, Stefan Fuchs, Lennart Friis‐Hansen, Daniel Goldenberger, Andrej Kraševac Glaser, Juha O. Groonroos, Ines Hoffmann, Tomer Hoffman, Harriet Hughes, Marina Ivanova, Peter Jezek, Gwennan Jones, Zeynep Ceren Karahan, Cornelia Lass‐Flörl, Frédéric Laurent, Laura Leach, Matilde Lee Horsbøll Pedersen, Caroline Loïez, Maureen Lynch, Robert Maloney, Martin Marsh, Olivia Milburn, Shanine Mitchell, Luke Moore, Lynn Moffat, Marianna Murdjeva, Michael E. Murphy, Deepa Nayar, Giacomo Nigrisoli, Fionnuala O’Sullivan, Büşra Öz, Teresa Peach, Christina Petridou, Mojgan Prinz, Mitja Rak, Niamh Reidy, Gian María Rossolini, Anne‐Laure Roux, Patricia Ruíz-Garbajosa, Kordo Saeed, Llanos Salar‐Vidal, Carlos Salas Venero, Mathyruban Selvaratnam, Éric Senneville, Peter Starzengrüber, Ben Talbot, Vanessa Taylor, Rihard Trebše, Deborah Wearmouth, Birgit Willinger, Marjan Wouthuyzen‐Bakker, Brianne Couturier, Florence Allantaz
Abstract
Abstract. Introduction: The BIOFIRE Joint Infection (JI) Panel is a diagnostic tool that uses multiplex-PCR testing to detect microorganisms in synovial fluid specimens from patients suspected of having septic arthritis (SA) on native joints or prosthetic joint infections (PJIs). Methods: A study was conducted across 34 clinical sites in 19 European and Middle Eastern countries from March 2021 to June 2022 to assess the effectiveness of the BIOFIRE JI Panel. Results: A total of 1527 samples were collected from patients suspected of SA or PJI, with an overall agreement of 88.4 % and 85 % respectively between the JI Panel and synovial fluid cultures (SFCs). The JI Panel detected more positive samples and microorganisms than SFC, with a notable difference on Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus species, Enterococcus faecalis, Kingella kingae, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and anaerobic bacteria. The study found that the BIOFIRE JI Panel has a high utility in the real-world clinical setting for suspected SA and PJI, providing diagnostic results in approximately 1 h. The user experience was positive, implying a potential benefit of rapidity of results' turnover in optimising patient management strategies. Conclusion: The study suggests that the BIOFIRE JI Panel could potentially optimise patient management and antimicrobial therapy, thus highlighting its importance in the clinical setting.