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Sepsis is Serious

Treating early and effectively is key

Sepsis

Faster results to optimize antimicrobial therapy and improve patient outcomes

  • Every 3-4 seconds someone dies of sepsis

  • The predominant cause of sepsis is a bacterial infection (79%) followed by fungal infections (14%).

  • Approximately 45% of infections were caused by multidrug-resistant organisms. 

  • Antimicrobial resistance is a major factor determining clinical unresponsiveness to treatment leading to the rapid evolution of sepsis to mortality.

  • Implementing the MALDI Biotyper with the MBT Sepsityper solution reduced the number of antibiotic doses by 35%.

  • This reduces the cost associated with nursing time, which is reduced particularly as a result of fewer IV drug doses.

Faster sepsis treatment requires faster diagnostics.


Traditional biochemical methods can take up to 48 hours following positive blood culture to obtain an identification. Rapid species identification is now possible by several techniques directly from positive blood cultures. It allows a first quick adaptation of empirical treatment if inappropriate, according to the species identified.


The most advanced systems, such as the Bruker CE-IVD MALDI Biotyper® (MBT) system, are capable of identification up to 24 hours after positive blood culture using isolates from subculture methods.

The cause of sepsis was predominately bacterial infections in 79% of patients with fungal infections causing 14%of infections. For patients with septic shock, there is an 8% increase in mortality for every hour of delay in antibiotic administration (2). The standard procedure for treating sepsis is to begin with broad-spectrum antimicrobials that target a range of microorganisms. While this may help to bring the infection under control, without knowing the identity of the microorganism, the effectiveness of broad-spectrum treatment is limited, and potentially exposes the patient to adverse health effects. Following correct identification of the microorganism, patients can be switched to targeted treatment, which often includes a combination of two or three drugs (3).

Faster results direct from positive blood cultures


However, when the MALDI Biotyper is combined with Bruker’s MBT Sepsityper® IVD Kit, laboratories can obtain direct pathogen identifications in 15-20 minutes after blood cultures turn positive. This enables the clinical laboratory to provide microbial identification 18-24 hours from the patient sample draw and up to 48 hours faster than traditional methods.

Bacterial cell isolates from positively flagged blood cultures – isolated by the rapid Sepsityper workflow – can undergo β-lactamase activity detection with Selective Testing of Antibiotic Resistance (STAR) using the MBT STAR-Carba and STAR-Cepha IVD Kits. This enables rapid detection of carbapenemase/cephalosporinase activity and identification of bacteria in one workflow. Combining the MALDI Biotyper with the MBT Sepsityper and MBT STAR assays allows microorganism identification and carbapenemase and/ or cephalosporinase phenotypical resistance testing 60-90 minutes from a blood culture turning positive. This would allow physicians to manage patient treatment more effectively compared to classical biochemical methods.

What is Sepsis?

Sepsis is most commonly caused by bacterial infection, but viral and fungal infections can also trigger the disease. The seriousness of sepsis may vary from mild to severe sepsis and septic shock. Vital organs become damaged as the condition progresses and the entire body can be affected. The international research consortium that conducted the study said the sepsis death rate is 213 per 100,000 people in India which is the second highest among South Asian countries.

Every 60-minute delay - an 8% increase in mortality.

References

  • Asner, Sandra & Desgranges, Florian & Schrijver, Irene & Calandra, Thierry. (2021). Impact of the Timeliness of Antibiotic Therapy on the Outcome of Patients with Sepsis and Septic Shock. Journal of Infection. 10.1016/j.jinf.2021.03.003.

  • Kumar A et al.Duration of hypotension prior to initiation of effective antimicrobial therapy is the critical determinant of survival in human septic shock. Critical Care Medicine. 2006;(34):1589-1596.

  • Kumar A, Roberts D, Wood KE, Light B, Parrillo JE, Sharma S, Suppes R, Feinstein D, Zanotti S, Taiberg L, Gurka D, Kumar A and Cheang M: Duration of hypotension before initiation of effective antimicrobial therapy is the critical determinant of survival in human septic shock. Crit Care Med 2006, 34(6):1589-96, DOI: 10.1097/01. CCM.0000217961.75225.E9.

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