SepsiTest™ enables direct identification of pathogens from whole blood, other sterile body fluids and tissue material.

SepsiTest™ is the first molecular test allowing direct testing of clinical samples. No culturing or pathogen enrichment is required. The test identifies more than 345 different bacteria and fungi directly from clinical specimen.

In a considerable number of clinical studies, SepsiTest™ has been validated for a range of applications and samples types:

Endocarditis

Endocarditis is an inflammation of the inner layer of the heart. Since the valves of the heart do not receive any dedicated blood supply, defensive immune mechanisms cannot directly reach the valves via the bloodstream. Microorganisms (bacteria, yeasts) attaching to the valve surface form a biofilm and the host immune response is blunted. Diagnosing infective endocarditis can be especially challenging, since a high proportion of infective endocarditis cases have shown to be blood culture-negative (blood culture negative endocarditis; BCNE). SepsiTest™ enables direct identification of heart valve-colonizing microorganisms within 7-8 hours. The kit contains all reagents for sample preparation, DNA isolation, PCR detection and sequence identification.

Sepsis, SIRS, Neutropenic Fever

Sepsis is a whole-body inflammatory state caused by microbial infection of the blood stream. The mortality caused by sepsis is still very high (28% to 50%) and recent studies have shown a substantial number of unreported cases due to false-negative blood culture results. Obviously, sepsis-causing microorganisms can be biased by antibiotic treatment or do not find appropriate growth conditions in the blood culture media. These blood-culture negative septicemic infections may account for up to 40% of total sepsis cases.

SepsiTest™ allows for direct pathogen identification from whole blood within 7-8 hours. The test screens whole blood for bacteria, yeasts and other fungi (see list of strains). Microorganisms from positive samples are subsequently identified by sequencing. This two-step protocol is proven to be especially useful for screening blood culture-negative bloodstream infections. The kit contains all reagents required for processing whole blood.

Joint Infection

A bacterial infection of a joint can cause a severe and potentially destructive form of arthritis, often referred to as septic arthritis. Bacterial joint infections can be caused by a number of different organisms and can occur in both natural and artificial joints (e.g., after a knee replacement). Frequently the culture remains negative. SepsiTest™ enables the identification of culture-negative joint infections within 7-8 hours. The kit contains all reagents needed for the identification of joint infections, no additional reagents are required.