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Review
. 2012 May 29;16(3):222.
doi: 10.1186/cc11202.

Bench-to-bedside review: Rapid molecular diagnostics for bloodstream infection--a new frontier?

Arash Afshari, Jacques Schrenzel, Margareta Ieven, Stephan Harbarth
Review

Bench-to-bedside review: Rapid molecular diagnostics for bloodstream infection--a new frontier?

Arash Afshari et al. Crit Care. .

Abstract

Among critically ill patients, the diagnosis of bloodstream infection poses a major challenge. Current standard bacterial identification based on blood culture platforms is intrinsically time-consuming and slow. The continuous evolvement of molecular techniques has the potential of providing a faster, more sensitive and direct identification of causative pathogens without prior need for cultivation. This may ultimately impact clinical decision-making and antimicrobial treatment. This review summarises the currently available technologies, their strengths and limitations and the obstacles that have to be overcome in order to develop a satisfactory bedside point-of-care diagnostic tool for detection of bloodstream infection.

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