Hospital system to fight blood infections

AN NHS Trust has become the first to adopt new technology which hopes to improve the treatment of patients with septicaemia, better known as blood poisoning.

The new test, used by Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (HHFT), helps doctors identify the type of septicaemia and which antibiotics will be effective in targeting the infection.

The Accelerate Pheno system has reducing the waiting time for results from around 44 hours using conventional methods to 6.5 hours, the trust said. Sepsis is a complication from an infection, which is called septicaemia when it invades the bloodstream.

Dr Nick Cortes, consultant microbiologist and clinical lead of microbiology at HHFT, said the technology from Accelerate Diagnostics “allows us to manage bloodstream sepsis more accurately and rapidly”.

He said: “Patients admitted with sepsis are given a range of antibiotics and have a blood test called a blood culture. We incubate their blood at 37 degrees to see if bacteria grows – if it does, this confirms bacterial septicaemia.

“Once the bacteria grows, however, we still need to identify what organism it is and which specific antibiotics will kill that infecting organism. On average this takes nearly 48 hours.”

He said the Accelerate Pheno system means results are available around one-and-a-half days earlier, and meant patients could be given the right antibiotics sooner. “The net benefit is more targeted, accurate treatment for sepsis, which will lead to better outcomes for this serious disease,” he added.