Major Study Shows AdvanDx, Inc.'s PNA FISH Reduced Bloodstream Infection Mortality

Major Study by Washington Hospital Center's Infectious Disease Specialists Reveal AdvanDx, Inc.'s PNA FISH Significantly Reduces Mortality Associated With Staphylococcus aureus Bloodstream Infections in the ICU.

A group of infectious disease specialists, headed by Shmuel Shoham M.D. at the Washington Hospital Center, have revealed new clinical data that demonstrates how AdvanDx, Inc.'s PNA FISH diagnostic test significantly reduced mortality and hospital costs associated with staphylococcal bloodstream infections (BSI).

PNA FISH is a rapid, molecular-based test that identifies bacteria and yeast species directly from positive blood cultures. Results are available within hours instead of days, enabling labs to quickly report results to physicians and pharmacists to ensure optimal therapy and reduced death rates for patients afflicted with staphylococcal bloodstream infections.

Dr. Shoham presented the data at the 2007 Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. The study occurred at the Washington Hospital Center, which is the largest hospital in the nation's capital and among the 25 largest hospitals in the United States.

Every year, 350,000 patients acquire bloodstream infections in the U.S., resulting in more than 90,000 deaths and significant costs to the healthcare system. Rapid identification of the causative pathogen is crucial to ensuring early, appropriate, and effective therapy in order to improve patient outcomes.

During the study, 202 patients whose blood culture tested positive for Gram-positive cocci (indicating a staphylococcal bloodstream infection) were alternately assigned to a control, or intervention, group. In the intervention group, PNA FISH results and general organism information were relayed to the treating clinician via a call from a hospital liaison, whereas control group patients did not receive a call with PNA FISH results. According to the study, reporting of PNA FISH results led to:

• An 80% reduction in intensive care unit (ICU) related mortality due to S. aureus BSIs;
  
• Median hospital cost savings of $19,441 per patient;
  
• A 61% reduction in patients receiving antibiotics for coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS), which is often a blood culture contaminant that leads to unnecessary antibiotic therapy even though the patient does not have a true bloodstream infection.
  

"Rapid delivery of PNA FISH data from the laboratory to clinicians was associated with reduced mortality in ICU patients," said Shmuel Shoham, M.D., Section of Infectious Diseases, Director, Transplant Infectious Diseases, Washington Hospital Center.