Direct Use Of Eazyplex (R) Superbug Cre Assay From Positive Blood Cultures In Conjunction With Inpatient Infectious Disease Consulting For Timely Appropriate Antimicrobial Therapy In Escherichia Coli And Klebsiella Pneumoniae Bloodstream Infections

Objectives: To describe a rapid workflow based on the direct detection of Escherichia coli (Ec) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (Kp) producing CTX-M extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) and/or carbapenemases (eg, KPC, VIM) from blood cultures (BCs) and the infectious disease (ID) consulting for timely appropriate antimicrobial therapy.Methods: This observational, retrospective study included adult patients with a first episode of Ec or Kp bloodstream infection (BSI) in a large Italian university hospital, where an inpatient ID consultation team (IDCT) has been operational. Results from the BCs tested for detecting bla(CTX-M), bla(KPC), bla(NDM), bla(OXA-48-like), and bla(VIM) genes by the eazyplex (R) SuperBug CRE assay in Ec and Kp organisms had been notified for antimicrobial therapy consulting.Results: In 321 BSI episodes studied, we found that 151 (47.0%) of Ec or Kp organisms harbored bla(CTX-M) and/or bla(KPC) and/or bla(VIM) (meantime from BC collection: 18.5 h). Empirical antimicrobial treatment was appropriate in 21.8% (33/151) of BSIs, namely 5.9% (3/51) of BSIs caused by KPC/VIM producers and 30.0% (30/100) of BSIs caused by CTX-M producers. After notification of results, the IDCT modified antimicrobial therapy (mean time from BC collection: 20 h) such that the proportion of appropriate treatments increased to 84.8% (128/151) of BSIs, namely 70.6% (36/51) of BSIs caused by KPC/VIM producers and 92.0% (92/100) of BSIs caused by CTX-M producers.Conclusion: Our study shows that a rapid diagnostic-driven clinical strategy allowed for early prescription of potentially effective antimicrobial therapy in BSIs caused by CTX-M ESBL-and/or KPC/VIM carbapenemase-producing Ec and Kp organisms.