Rapid diagnosis of sepsis is crucial for treatment and survival. Currently, blood culture takes 48 hours-5 days to complete. After starting antimicrobial treatment blood culture results are not reliable. As a result, empirical broad spectrum antimicrobial therapy is mostly used. This implies possible antimicrobial over- or under treatment which is associated with increased antimicrobial resistance development. Early identification of the causative pathogen of sepsis will therefore have a major impact on the adequate treatment and reduction of high mortality rates. To date, there is not a single molecular diagnostic test available on the market to detect all putative causative bacterial pathogens of sepsis. In this study, the investigators will develop and validate a completely new molecular sepsis approach based on pathogen DNA detection, as an alternative to culture.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
300
Maastricht University Medical Center
Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands
Development and validation of rapid diagnostics tests for detection of bacterial DNA in sepsis
The tests will report presence of bacterial DNA by giving a specific bacterial species name.
Time frame: 2 years
Patterns of bacterial DNA dynamics over time
Use of species-specific qPCR primers (either from existing sepsis literature or to be designed) to quantify the DNA load at at least 3 different time points during an infectious episode. Comparison of these loads with infectious parameters used for routine diagnostics and with antibiotic use.
Time frame: 2 years
Distinguishing between the causative pathogen and contamination by a physician evaluation panel, both for the current gold standard (blood cultures) and the results of new microbiological tests for detecting sepsis pathogens
Time frame: 2 years
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.