Speedier ID

Accelerate Pheno System Delivers Faster Bloodstream Infection Results

HealthTrust’s Innovation Summit enables suppliers to present new technology and medical breakthroughs to clinical experts within the membership. HealthTrust values products that improve clinical outcomes, reduce lengths of stay, decrease infection rates, and speed up procedures and results.

The Accelerate Pheno system from Accelerate Diagnostics is one such innovation. Presented at the 2017 Innovation Summit, the system provides rapid species identification (ID) and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) results for the most commonly identified organisms in bloodstream infections.

Shortening the ID Window

Bloodstream infections are linked to prolonged hospitalizations and increased patient morbidity and mortality. Since antimicrobial-resistant pathogens—those arising from overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics—can be difficult, if not impossible, to treat, a good first step in improving outcomes is to diagnose antimicrobial susceptibility. This will isolate the drugs most likely to be effective in treating a patient’s particular infection.

Previously, it took laboratories between 48 and 72 hours to positively identify antimicrobial susceptibility from blood cultures. That’s time wasted on starting antibiotic stewardship interventions aimed at reducing microbial resistance and the spread of intractable infections. According to Dolly Kay, MBA, MLS (ASCP), a portfolio director with HealthTrust, the Accelerate Pheno system shortens that window considerably.

Fully automated, the system performs both identification and AST directly from positive blood cultures within four to six hours. “We are taking away steps that slow down identification,” says Michael Overa, MBA, BSMT, senior director of lab services at HealthTrust. “Instead of waiting 18 to 24 hours for an organism to grow, we can take it directly from the bottle.”

Supported by Clinical Studies

A 2017 study published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology found the length of time to identification and time to susceptibility using the Accelerate Pheno system were decreased by 23.47 and 41.86 hours, respectively, compared to those for the standard of care. The study also found the easy-to-use system reduces hands-on time for ID/AST of common blood pathogens and allows results to be released more quickly.

The system automatically cleans each sample using a process called gel electrofiltration. When identifying polymicrobial infections, it reduces the need to grow cultures overnight before testing.

With the system, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) results—which provide the exact information needed to pinpoint the most effective antibiotic for each patient—is also available within hours. Everything needed to get identification and MIC-based susceptibility results is contained in a single, disposable kit.

Prescribing the Right Antibiotic Sooner

According to Kay, HealthTrust moved quickly to get Accelerate Pheno on contract once members of HealthTrust’s Laboratory Clinical Advisory Board watched presentations of the system in action and evaluated it in laboratory settings. “Our motivation was to avoid cultivating superbugs and getting patients the right antibiotic from the beginning,” she says.

The Accelerate Pheno system was the first significant advancement in the analysis and identification of blood cultures. Solving the time and accuracy issue with blood culture identification and AST has improved physicians’ confidence when prescribing antibiotics to their patients.

“Getting patients diagnosed more quickly and getting the right antibiotic on board sooner can decrease care-level escalations such as the need for patients to be transferred from a regular bed to an ICU bed,” Kay adds.