New data from a Belgian multicenter study demonstrates that the Check-Direct CPE assay is 100% sensitive in identifying patients colonized with carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae or CPE.

“Screening hospitalized patients who are at high risk of CPE carriage and subsequently keeping carriers isolated from non-carriers has proved to be essential in preventing spread of CPE within healthcare facilities”, said study author Prof. Youri Glupczynski M.D., Ph.D., Head of the Belgian National Reference Laboratory for Antibiotic Resistance Monitoring in Gram-negative Bacteria, Catholic University of Louvain (UCL), Mont-Godinne.

“With the Check-Direct CPE alone we were able to detect all cases that had been identified by selective culture with confirmation of resistance mechanisms by PCR”, Prof. Glupczynski continued. “What sets Check-Direct CPE apart is that an accurate molecular result is available directly from patient samples in a matter of hours rather than days, as is the case by conventional microbiological methods.”

This study also reported that a number of patients were tested positive by Check-Direct CPE only. While the causes may be several, the authors point out that five patients had a history of CPE colonization. In addition, six patients, who the Check-Direct CPE assay identified as positive for OXA-48 type CPE, were admitted to a hospital with an ongoing major OXA-48 outbreak.

“The increase of sensitivity achieved with Check-Direct CPE for the detection of OXA-48 asymptomatic carriers is particularly interesting because the recognition of this often poorly expressed carbapenemase is notoriously difficult by conventional phenotypic methods. OXA-48 is by far the most common CPE type in Belgium, France and the Netherlands and is increasingly reported in many other European countries as well”, Prof. Glupczynski noted.

Multicentre evaluation of the Check-Direct CPE® assay for direct screening of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae from rectal swabs