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VOLUME 18 , ISSUE 2 ( July-December, 2016 ) > List of Articles

SHORT COMMUNICATION

Evaluation of direct sensitivity testing as a method for early initiation of treatment in Gram-negative sepsis

Latha Roy Shanthraju, Gayathri Devi

Keywords : Antibiotic resistance, bacteraemia, blood culture, direct sensitivity, inoculum size

Citation Information : Shanthraju LR, Devi G. Evaluation of direct sensitivity testing as a method for early initiation of treatment in Gram-negative sepsis. 2016; 18 (2):131-134.

DOI: 10.4103/0972-1282.194953

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Published Online: 17-08-2024

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2016; Wolters Kluwer India Pvt. Ltd.


Abstract

Purpose: For antibiotic susceptibility results, conventional culture and sensitivity methods take 48 h after a blood culture are flagged positive by automated systems. Early initiation of targeted antibiotic therapy is essential for effective management of sepsis to reduce morbidity, mortality, cost of treatment and prevent antibiotic resistance. The objective of this study was to evaluate direct sensitivity test (DST) as a potential tool to get reliable antibiotic susceptibility results 24 h earlier. Materials and Methods: Blood cultures that flagged positive from 1st January 2015 to 30th June 2015 by BacT/ALERT were stained by Gram stain. All blood cultures with only one kind of Gram-negative bacteria by Gram stain were simultaneously cultured and sensitivity tests put up directly (DST) from the broth using disk-diffusion method according to the British Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy guidelines. DST results available next day were compared with conventional antibiotic susceptibility test (AST). Results of DST (test method) and AST (reference method) were compared for agreements or errors. Results: Of the fifty Gram-negative isolates tested, we observed 91.5% categorical agreement or no error (κ = 0.407, P < 0.001). Conclusions: DST using disk diffusion from positive blood culture broths helps initiate early targeted antibiotic therapy. There is a high concordance between DST and AST.


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