AdvanDx said that the fast protocol reduces PNA Fish turn-around time from the original 2.5 hours to 90 minutes by reducing PNA probe hybridization from 90 minutes to 30 minutes.
AdvanDx added that, with the introduction of the 90 minutes PNA Fish protocol, laboratories will be able to further improve turn-around times for critical results and thereby help clinicians further improve antifungal selection, care, and outcomes for patients with candidemia.
Yeast Traffic Light PNA Fish is the FDA cleared method that can identify up to five Candida species directly from positive blood cultures including C albicans and/or C parapsilosis, C tropicalis, and C glabrata and/or C krusei.
In a separate study, Della-Latta et al. at Columbia University Medical Center demonstrated that rapid PNA Fish results led to an early switch to caspofungin, an echinocandin, for 81% of patients with C glabrata infections treated empirically with fluconazole. The rapid results also led to an early switch to fluconazole for 70% of patients with C albicans infections treated empirically with caspofungin.
Thais Johansen, president and CEO of AdvanDx, said: “The FDA clearances for both C albicans PNA Fish and C albicans/C glabrata PNA Fish marks a major milestone for AdvanDx as it completes our transition to the 90 minute protocol for PNA Fish tests covering all four Gram-stain classes.
“Hospitals can provide accurate, actionable species identification results for the majority of critical bloodstream pathogens in just 90 minutes, enabling clinicians to improve antimicrobial therapy and outcomes for their patients.”
