Rapid Molecular Diagnosis of Sepsis in the Intensive Care Unit

Rapid Molecular Detection of Sepsis in Whole Blood

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.

Inclusion Criteria:

-Patients are included when routine blood cultures are ordered for diagnosis of bloodstream infections.

Exclusion Criteria:

-N/A