T2 Biosystems announced that data on its T2Candida Panel was presented at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) and the International Society of Chemotherapy (ICC) joint meeting in San Diego, US.
The data demonstrate that T2Candida is more sensitive and rapid than blood culture for monitoring invasive candidiasis in proven cases of infection.
"This study was designed to take repeated blood samples from patients over time to determine the sensitivity of T2Candida compared to blood culture for monitoring patients on antifungal therapy," said Peter Pappas, M.D., FACP, professor of medicine, division of infectious diseases, University of Alabama at Birmingham and principal investigator of the study.
"Previous studies have demonstrated that blood culture may yield false negative test results when patients are on antifungal therapy," said John McDonough, president and CEO of T2 Biosystems.
Twenty-three patients who had tested positive for a Candida infection using blood culture and had been administered antifungal therapy were enrolled in the study.
The study compared the results of T2Candida and blood culture during the first week of treatment. Patient specimens were collected on the day of enrollment and days three, five and seven, provided that patients remained positive by either test method.
Blood culture and T2Candida test results were compared to determine which method was most accurate for monitoring those patients.
T2Candida demonstrated greater accuracy in detecting invasive candidiasis, or the presence of the Candida infection, delivering 17 positive results during the testing period for nine patients with candidemia who were receiving antifungal therapy, while blood culture delivered only three positive results within the same patient set.
In one case, T2Candida identified a case of intra-abdominal candidiasis caused by Candida albicans that was not detected by multiple blood cultures.
T2Candida may be a useful tool for detection, species identification, and patient monitoring for cases of candidemia and invasive candidiasis to facilitate initiation or cessation of therapy, as well as for controlling the source of the infection.
The T2Candida Panel is the first sepsis pathogen diagnostic that provides species-specific results in three to five hours without the need for blood culture, which can take up to six days to provide a result.
The rapid detection of Candida enables physicians to provide targeted treatment quickly, and research has shown this can reduce the length of stay in the hospital of a patient with Candida sepsis by almost nine days at a cost savings of approximately $26,887.
A rapid negative result can prevent unnecessary administration of antimicrobials, further reducing costs. In addition, a rapid negative result can prevent or reduce antimicrobial resistance, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has designated a serious threat.