Bacteraemia and fungaemia in cystic fibrosis patients with febrile pulmonary exacerbation: a prospective observational study

BACKGROUND: Bloodstream pathogens can be identified by multiplex PCR (SeptiFast (SF)) or blood culture (BC); whether these pathogens are present in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients during febrile pulmonary exacerbations (FPE) has not been sufficiently studied. METHODS: In this prospective observational study, blood from CF patients experiencing FPE was tested with SF and BC before the initiation of antibiotic treatment. RESULTS: After contaminants had been excluded, 9 of 72 blood samples tested positive by BC or SF. SF exclusively detected four pathogens; BC, one. Pulmonary pathogen transmission was likely in all cases except for 2 cases of candidaemia, which were believed to be caused by catheter-related infections. For three cases, test results caused us to change the antibiotic regimen. Sensitivity (85.7% vs. 42.9%) and negative predictive value (98.4% vs. 87.0%) tended to be higher for SF than for BC. CONCLUSIONS: The results of SF and BC show that bacteraemia and fungaemia are present in CF patients during FPE and may affect antibiotic therapy. SF can help rule out catheter-related bloodstream infections.