Purpose: Panel PCR tests provide rapid pathogen identification. However, their diagnostic performance is unclear. We assessed the performance of the Biofire© FilmArray pneumonia (PN)-panel against standard culture in broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL) samples. Methods: Setting: University Hospital Basel (February 2019 to July 2020), including hospitalized patients with a BAL (± pneumonia). We determined sensitivity and specificity of the PN-panel against standard culture. Using univariate logistic regression, we calculated odds ratios (OR) for pneumonia according to PN-panel and culture status, stratifying by chronic pulmonary disease. We calculated ORs for pneumonia for different pathogens to estimate the clinical relevance. Results: We included 840 adult patients, 60% were males, median age was 68 years, 35% had chronic pulmonary disease, 21% had pneumonia, and 36% had recent antibiotic use. In 1078 BAL samples, bacterial pathogens were detected in 36% and 16% with PN-panel and culture, respectively. The overall sensitivity and specificity of the PN-panel was high, whereas the positive predictive value was low. The OR of pneumonia was 1.1 (95% CI 0.7–1.6) for PN-panel-positive only; 2.6 (95% CI 1.3–5.3) for culture-positive only, and 1.6 (95% CI 1.0–2.4) for PN-panel and culture-positive. The detection rate of Haemophilus influenzae, Staphylococcus aureus, and Moraxella catarrhalis in the PN-panel was high but not associated with pneumonia. Conclusion: While sensitivity and specificity of PN-panel are high compared to culture, pathogen detection did not correlate well with a pneumonia diagnosis. Patients with culture-positive BAL had the highest OR for pneumonia—thus the impact of the PN-panel on clinical management needs further evaluation in randomized controlled trials.
CITATION STYLE
Søgaard, K. K., Hinic, V., Goldenberger, D., Gensch, A., Schweitzer, M., Bättig, V., … Egli, A. (2024). Evaluation of the clinical relevance of the Biofire© FilmArray pneumonia panel among hospitalized patients. Infection, 52(1), 173–181. https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-023-02080-1
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