Reducing false positive sepsis tests creates capacity for critical PCR lab equipment and increases bed availability
Magnolia will provide complimentary Steripath Gen2 Initial Specimen Diversion Device training, education and initial product inventory to reduce false positive diagnostic results for sepsis. (Credit: enriquelopezgarre/Pixabay.)
Magnolia Medical announced today its pledge to partner with hospitals nationwide to address critical constraints associated with COVID-19. As part of the program, Magnolia will provide complimentary Steripath® Gen2 Initial Specimen Diversion Device® training, education and initial product inventory to reduce false positive diagnostic results for sepsis.
False positive sepsis tests consume critical and constrained hospital resources. An average of 20% to over 50% of all positive sepsis tests are likely false positive due to blood culture contamination.1 These positive sepsis tests require further processing which in many hospitals requires use of the same PCR lab equipment needed for current and emerging COVID-19 testing.
Additionally, patients with false positive sepsis test results remain in the hospital an average of two additional days2,3, representing a significant burden on hospitals facing bed capacity constraints. This unnecessary time in the hospital subjects vulnerable populations to the risks of hospital-acquired infections and conditions (including COVID-19) which can extend hospital stay further, compromising patient safety, health and outcomes.
CDC recommendations call for antibiotic administration to all severely ill patients within one hour of arrival at the hospital, as it is difficult and often impossible to differentiate between COVID-19, bacterial pneumonia, and sepsis.4
Accurate diagnostic testing to rule out or confirm sepsis is more important now than ever to enable clinicians to rapidly deescalate unnecessary antibiotic treatment, or to provide more accurate targeted antibiotic therapy.
Steripath is the only FDA-cleared device indicated to reduce blood culture contamination.5 Steripath Gen2 delivers up to a 97% positive predictive value for blood cultures, representing greater than 60% improvement in accuracy over standard methods.6,7
“Accurate sepsis testing is always critical, but even more so today as our healthcare system faces a capacity crisis for laboratory processing and bed availability for the most severely ill patients affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Greg Bullington, CEO of Magnolia Medical. “Steripath can have a direct impact lessening these constraints, ensuring that precious hospital resources are not unnecessarily consumed based on false positive sepsis tests.”
Source: Company Press Release