ArticleEuropean journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology2021
A high leukocyte count and administration of hydrocortisone hamper PCR-based diagnostics for bloodstream infections.
Article in European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Molecular assays for the diagnosis of sepsis in neonates: a diagnostic test accuracy review.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Direct 16S/18S rRNA Gene PCR Followed by Sanger Sequencing as a Clinical Diagnostic Tool for Detection of Bacterial and Fungal Infections: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2023Pooled it
- Rapid molecular assays versus blood culture for bloodstream infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis.EClinicalMedicine · 2025Article
- Clinical Application of a Multiplex Droplet Digital PCR in the Rapid Diagnosis of Children with Suspected Bloodstream Infections.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Genomic and Phenotypic Analysis of Linezolid-ResistantMicroorganisms · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Bloodstream infections (BSIs) require an accurate and fast identification of causative pathogens. Molecular diagnostics, in particular polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based approaches for BSI diagnostics directly from whole blood, suffer from limitations such as inhibition leading to invalid results. In this retrospective study, we analyzed 23 parameters for their potential interference with LightCycler SeptiFast PCR tests (n = 2167) routinely performed at our institution. The overall inhibition rate was 9.1%. Test date, type of ward, procalcitonin levels, high leukocyte counts, and absolute neutrophil count were significantly associated with inhibition. For a subset (n = 448), cut-off values for leukocyte counts of < 5700 cells/μL and ≥ 26,900 cells/μL were significantly associated with a low (5%) and high (67%) inhibition risk. For patients with a moderate to high leukocyte count (5700-26,900 cells/μL), the additional administration of hydrocortisone significantly increased the inhibition risk. Furthermore, freezing of blood samples prior to DNA extraction and SF testing appeared to neutralize inhibitory factors. It remains to be investigated whether other molecular diagnostic tests are susceptible to similar inhibiting parameters.
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Registered trials
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