The retrospective approach from a study at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine provided an ideal opportunity for detailed case studies, comparing the results using the available standard of care at the time (culture on blood, urine, and BAL samples) against more sensitive testing, the T2Bacteria® Panel RUO, five years later. This comparison allows an analysis of how the use of the T2Bacteria Panel could have potentially changed clinical practice and outcomes.
The Patient
25-year-old female with cerebral palsy diagnosed with duodenal pneumatosis. The patient was admitted to the hospital for gastrointestinal (GI) issues and started on empiric vancomycin and Zosyn.
Day 8 of Treatment
The patient developed tachypnea and hypoxia and was diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia. The patient’s respiratory culture grew 15,000 CFU/mL Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 1,000 CFU/mL Klebsiella pneumoniae, both pan-sensitive, so she was appropriately treated.
- The T2Bacteria Panel RUO result from blood drawn on day 8 was negative
- Blood culture drawn on day 8 was negative
Day 35 of Treatment
The patient was discharged after prolonged GI complications.
Case Study Analysis
The negative T2Bacteria Panel RUO result most likely indicates an appropriately managed infection in the lung that was contained and did not progress, and that did not require a change in antibiotic treatment.
