Pilot study evaluation of the eQUANT™ system for accelerated antimicrobial susceptibility testing of gram-negative organisms directly from positive blood cultures.

We describe results from a multicenter pilot study evaluating the eQUANT system for rapid generation of a standardized inoculum (0.5 McFarland equivalent) directly from blood cultures positive for target gram-negative bloodstream pathogens for same-day antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) by disk diffusion, MicroScan and Vitek2 methods. Out of 167 blood cultures that met study criteria (monomicrobial with one of 9 target gram-negative species), colony counts from eQUANT suspensions of 164 (98.

Comparative evaluation of the Thermo fisher TaqPath™ COVID-19 combo kit with the Cepheid Xpert® Xpress SARS-CoV-2 assay for detecting SARS-CoV-2 in nasopharyngeal specimens.

Purpose: With over 50 SARS-CoV-2 gene amplification assays that have been EUA cleared with minimal experimental validation performed, it is likely that not all of these assays are comparable in their ability to detect SARS-CoV-2 in clinical specimens. Thermo Fisher Scientific is a relatively new company in the molecular diagnostics field and the purpose of this study was to compare the performance of the Thermo Fisher TaqPath™ Combo Kit with an established test, the Cepheid Xpert® Xpress SARS-CoV-2 assay, for its ability to detect SARS-CoV-2 in nasopharyngeal specimens.

Methods: A total of 300 randomly selected nasopharyngeal specimens were evaluated and tested by the TaqPath and GeneXpert assays.

Clinical Evaluation and Cost Analysis of Great Basin Shiga Toxin Direct Molecular Assay for Detection of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli in Diarrheal Stool Specimens.

The Shiga Toxin Direct molecular assay (ST Direct) relies on nucleic acid amplification and solid array-based amplicon detection to identify Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in preserved stool specimens. Genes encoding Shiga toxin (stx and stx), as well as the E. coli serotype O:157-specific marker rfbE, are simultaneously detected within 2 h.

Preliminary Evaluation of the Research-Use-Only (RUO) iCubate iC-GPC Assay for Identification of Select Gram-Positive Bacteria and Their Resistance Determinants in Blood Culture Broths.

The iC-GPC assay (iCubate, Huntsville, AL) provides a molecular option for the rapid, on-demand analysis of positive blood cultures. A preliminary evaluation of the iC-GPC assay using 203 clinical or seeded specimens demonstrated a sensitivity of 93.8% to 100% and a specificity of 98.

Comparative Evaluation of AmpliVue HSV 1+2 Assay with ELVIS Culture for Detecting Herpes Simplex Virus 1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2 in Clinical Specimens.

The AmpliVue HSV 1+2 assay was compared to the ELVIS HSV ID and D(3) Typing Culture System for the qualitative detection and differentiation of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2 DNA in 1,351 cutaneous and mucocutaneous specimens. Compared to ELVIS, AmpliVue had sensitivities of 95.7 and 97.

Multicenter evaluation of the Quidel Lyra Direct C. difficile nucleic acid amplification assay.

Clostridium difficile is a Gram-positive bacterium commonly found in health care and long-term-care facilities and is the most common cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Rapid detection of this bacterium can assist physicians in implementing contact precautions and appropriate antibiotic therapy in a timely manner. The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical performance of the Quidel Lyra Direct C.