IS PCR QUICKER THAN BLOOD CULTURE?
The benefits of using SeptiFast nevertheless varied from one centre to another and not all hospitals were able to take advantage of the ability to get a fast result. Gary Creed, Clinical Physiologist, who presented the results of the trial at St Thomas’s Hospital, questioned: “Is PCR quicker than blood culture? That depends on the set-up and whether there is someone in the unit designated to do the testing.” The St Thomas’s study found that SeptiFast had a 32% positivity rate compared with a 12% positivity rate with blood culture. Elaine Green, Department of Microbiology, Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), stated that SeptiFast was rarely faster than blood cultures, due to the study set-up, and 66 samples were excluded, for a variety of reasons. After analysing the results from 124 samples from 52 patients, the hospital concluded that the fungal diagnosis was potentially beneficial. “We are very interested in expanding and looking into the fungal diagnosis, as this is an area where w
