Average per patient hospital cost savings of $60,000 and 22 day reduction in length of stay observed
Nanosphere, Inc., a company enhancing medicine through targeted molecular diagnostics, today announced publication of a study in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology that evaluated the clinical and economic impact of rapid bacterial identification and antibiotic resistance determination by the Verigene® Gram-Positive Blood Culture (BC-GP) Test for patients with enterococcal bacteremia, which can lead to sepsis.
The manuscript reports that following implementation of Verigene BC-GP for the detection of bloodstream infections caused by Enterococcus, there was an average per patient reduction in hospital length of stay of 21.7 days, and an average savings of $60,729 in hospital costs.
In addition, there was a significant decrease in the average time it took for patients to receive appropriate treatment (23.4 hours), and an even greater reduction in time (31.1 hours) for patients with vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) bacteremia—an especially deadly cause of bloodstream infection and sepsis. Importantly, Verigene results enabled clinicians to immediately select appropriate therapy for 100 percent of patients with vancomycin-susceptible Enterococcus (VSE) bacteremia, potentially resulting in further cost savings.
Finally, there was complete agreement between BC-GP test results and those derived from conventional culture and susceptibility methods, along with a significant reduction in time to reporting of test results (47.5 hours).
“Minimizing time to appropriate antimicrobial therapy permits more effective targeting of the causative pathogens, decreases antimicrobial exposure, and can result in cost avoidance,” said Yvette McCarter, PhD, D(ABMM), Director of Clinical Microbiology, University of Florida Health Jacksonville. “Utilization of assays such as the BC-GP test, supported by collaboration between microbiology and pharmacy, can optimize antimicrobial use, decrease unnecessary length of stay and costs, and improve time to appropriate therapy.”
“We are very pleased with the study results as they demonstrate the significant clinical and economic value of Verigene in equipping antimicrobial stewardship teams with the information they need to recommend the best course of treatment for their patients,” said Michael McGarrity, Nanosphere’s president and chief executive officer. “A recent CDC landmark report highlighted the importance of improved antibiotic stewardship and the implementation of new diagnostic tests to aid in addressing the problem of antibiotic-resistant infections. As demonstrated in this study, Verigene has the ability to help hospitals meet this critical need, and the potential to improve patient outcomes, optimize antibiotic therapy, reduce costs and save lives.”
Published ahead of print under the title “A Stewardship Approach to Optimize Antimicrobial Therapy Through Use of a Rapid Microarray Assay on Blood Cultures Positive with Enterococcus species,” the study was performed at University of Florida Health Jacksonville. It is the first study to evaluate the clinical and economic impact of using rapid microarray technology on optimizing therapy for enterococcal bacteria.
For more information, visit www.nanosphere.us.