Implementation and performance of the BioFire FilmArray® Blood Culture Identification panel with antimicrobial treatment recommendations for bloodstream infections at a midwestern academic tertiary hospital

The FilmArray (R) Blood Culture Identification (BCID) panel was recently implemented at a midwestern academic tertiary care hospital to provide rapid identification (ID) of common pathogens from positive blood cultures. This study evaluated the clinical performance of the BCID panel compared to culture-based ID methods. One hundred thirty-eight monomicrobial and 8 polymicrobial blood cultures were evaluated during the 30-day study resulting in the ID of 152 total organisms by culture with 115 organisms correctly identified using the BCID panel. The BCID panel had sensitivities of 80.4% (115/152) for all organisms identified during the study and 94.6% (115/122) when considering only on-panel organisms. BCID panel specificity was 100%. Implementation of the BCID panel was coupled with the development of empiric therapy recommendations for bloodstream infections by the antimicrobial stewardship team. Based on this study, the FilmArray (R) BCID panel is a rapid and reliable test for the detection of common bloodstream pathogens, and therapeutic decisions can be based upon panel results. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.