Evaluation Of Curetis Unyvero, A Multiplex Pcr-Based Testing System, For Rapid Detection Of Bacteria And Antibiotic Resistance Of Severe Pneumonia In Hospitalized Patients

AIM: In this study, we evaluated the performance of Unyvero Hospitalised Pneumonia (HPN) panel in detecting etiological pathogens and resistance markers from Bronchoalveolar Lavage (BAL) samples obtained from hospitalized patients with pneumonia. BACKGROUND: Pneumonia is a common and severe illness that requires prompt and effective management. METHODS: The Unyvero HPN Application (Curetis GmbH, Germany) is a multiplex molecular panel that detects 20 bacteria, 14 antibiotic resistance markers, and a fungus, Pneumocystis jirovecii, in BAL fluid in 5h. RESULTS: Out of 66 patients recruited into the study, during 3 months period, 52(78.7%) samples were positive and 14(12.48%) were negative. A single pathogen was detected in 29(55.7%) and 22(42.3%) harbored multiple bacteria. Overall positive and negative percent agreements with culture results for identification of bacteria that grow in routine cultures were 93.4% and 98.3%, respectively. Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii complex had the highest proportion of isolated pathogen 32.6% and 17.3%, respectively. For the first time we have detected 2 isolates of Pneumocystis jirovecii. Eight different genes were detected, including the tem, ermB, sul1, ctx-M, mecA, shv, oxa-23 and oxa-24. The highest number of samples were admitted from Pediatric unit 37 (71.1%). The time from sample testing to results was 5 h versus 48 to 72 h by HPN and culture, respectively. CONCLUSION: The Unyvero HPN application provides accurate detection of common agents of bacterial pneumonia and of P. jirovecii. The sensitivity and rapidity of this panel suggest significant clinical value for choosing appropriate antibiotics and for antibiotic stewardship.