Clinical PotpourriImpact of bronchoalveolar lavage multiplex polymerase chain reaction on microbiological yield and therapeutic decisions in severe pneumonia in intensive care unit

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to evaluate the impact of adding bronchoalveolar lavage multiplex polymerase chain reaction (M-PCR) to conventional cultures (CC) on microbiological yield and therapeutic decisions in adult intensive care unit patients with pneumonia and severe sepsis or septic shock.Material and methodsIn this retrospective case-control study, bronchoalveolar lavage cultures were taken for control (58 patients, 58 admissions) and study arms (57 patients, 58 admissions). Bronchoalveolar lavage M-PCR was sent simultaneously for the latter.ResultsA total of 267 microorganisms were identified (M-PCR alone, 211; CC alone, 15; both, 41) in the study arm vs 64 in controls. Concordance between M-PCR and culture was complete in 32 (55.17%), partial in 4 (6.9%), and discordant in 22 (37.93%) including 17 with positive M-PCR but negative CC. Time to antibiotic therapy modification was significantly less (P < .001) in M-PCR group compared to controls (32.40 ± 14.41 vs 41.74 ± 45.61 hours). There was no significant difference in index episode resolution (48.3% vs 50%; P = 1), intensive care unit mortality (57.4% vs 51.2%; P = .67), and hospital mortality (59.6% vs 61.5%; P = 1) in study and control arms, respectively, despite more septic shock patients in the study arm (89.7% vs 75.9%; P = .05).ConclusionBronchoalveolar lavage M-PCR with culture leads to higher microbiological yield and earlier modification of antibiotics compared to conventional culture.