Tem-PCR Test Panel Detects Nine Gastrointestinal Pathogens

DIATHERIX Laboratories has added a gastrointestinal (GI) panel to its lineup of highly sensitive, rapid response diagnostic tests. In a single result, the DIATHERIX GI panel can detect and differentiate nine types of GI infections so physicians can quickly identify patients who have severe, life-threatening infections.

'The DIATHERIX gastrointestinal test panel represents a major breakthrough in the diagnosis of infectious bacterial diarrhea and the identification of C. difficile and the toxin B gene,' said Don Lazas, M.D., a gastroenterologist with Associates in Gastroenterology in Nashville, Tenn. 'Current stool culture based testing for these types of GI infections typically require long turn around times and often yield poor results, especially if a patient has been prescribed prior antibiotic therapy. In a single specimen, the DIATHERIX test provides highly-accurate, same-day diagnosis of all common causes of infectious bacterial diarrhea. It can also identify pathogens even in the presence of antibiotics.'

'The GI infection C. difficile is becoming more of a hospital threat than MRSA, and since hospitals are currently limited in their testing methods, this is the ideal time to introduce our new panel,' said Dennis Grimaud, Chairman and CEO of DIATHERIX, Inc.

The nine bacterial pathogens targeted in the GI panel include Clostridium difficile; Clostridium difficile toxin B gene; Campylobacter jejuni; Escherichia coli strain 0157; Listeria monocytogenes; Salmonella enterica; Staphylococcus aureus; Vibrio cholerae; and Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

The GI panel is DIATHERIX's sixth standard testing panel. Other panels include tests for infectious disease; Staphylococcus differentiation; respiratory infections; human papillomavirus typing and viral respiratory.

All six panels use the company's proprietary technology, which is target enriched multiplex polymerase chain reaction (Tem-PCR). Tem-PCR is the first diagnostic tool introduced to the clinical market that can identify multiple pathogens, detect co-infections and determine genetic drug resistance in a single result.