Multicenter evaluation of the Staphylococcus QuickFISH method for simultaneous identification of Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci directly from blood culture bottles in less than 30 minutes.

A novel rapid peptide nucleic acid fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) method, Staphylococcus QuickFISH, for the direct detection of Staphylococcus species from positive blood culture bottles was evaluated in a multicenter clinical study. The method utilizes a microscope slide with predeposited positive- and negative-control organisms and a self-reporting 15-min hybridization step, which eliminates the need for a wash step. Five clinical laboratories tested 722 positive blood culture bottles containing gram-positive cocci in clusters. The sensitivities for detection of Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) were 99.5% (217/218) and 98.8% (487/493), respectively, and the combined specificity of the assay was 89.5% (17/19). The combined positive and negative predictive values of the assay were 99.7% (696/698) and 70.8% (17/24), respectively. Studies were also performed on spiked cultures to establish the specificity and performance sensitivity of the method. Staphylococcus QuickFISH has a turnaround time (TAT) of <30 min and a hands-on time (HOT) of <5 min. The ease and speed of the method have the potential to improve the accuracy of therapeutic intervention by providing S. aureus/CoNS identification simultaneously with Gram stain results.

Rapid detection of Enterococcus spp. direct from blood culture bottles using Enterococcus QuickFISH method: a multicenter investigation.

The performance of a diagnostic method for detection and identification of Enterococcus spp. directly from positive blood culture was evaluated in a clinical study. The method, Enterococcus QuickFISH BC, is a second-generation peptide nucleic acid (PNA) fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) test, which uses a simplified, faster assay procedure. The test uses fluorescently labeled PNA probes targeting 16S rRNA to differentiate Enterococcus faecalis from other Enterococcus spp. by the color of the cellular fluorescence. Three hundred fifty-six routine blood culture samples were tested; only 2 discordant results were recorded. The sensitivities for detection of Enterococcus faecalis and non-faecalis Enterococcus were 100% (106/106) and 97.0% (65/67), respectively, and the combined specificity of the assay was 100%. The combined positive and negative predictive values of the assay were 100% (171/171) and 98.9% (185/187), respectively.