Work

Comparison of the time to detection (TTD) of different blood culture systems and antibiotic adsorption capacity of different pediatric blood culture bottles of BD and bioMérieux

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: simulations of bacterial and fungal bloodstream infections. We also assessed the antibiotic adsorption capacity of the three pediatric bottles under simulated peak antibiotic concentrations. Among all tested bacteria, the median TTDs for BacT/Alert VIRTUO with BacT/Alert-PF plus and for Bactec FX with Bactec-PF were 11.62 h and 13.48 h, respectively, both of which are shorter than those of BacT/Alert 3D with BacT/Alert-PF (17.25 h). Within the BacT/Alert 3D system, BacT/Alert-PF plus demonstrated a shorter median TTD than BacT/Alert-PF (13.92 h vs 17.25 h). Under identical bottle conditions (BacT/Alert-PF plus), BacT/Alert VIRTUO achieved a shorter median TTD than BacT/Alert 3D (11.62 h vs 13.92 h). In the antibiotic adsorption evaluation, Bactec-PF (51.3%) and BacT/Alert-PF plus (46.1%) achieved significantly higher detection rates than BacT/Alert-PF (13%) for ampicillin, oxacillin, ceftriaxone, ceftazidime, cefepime, cefoperazone/sulbactam, piperacillin/tazobactam, meropenem, amikacin, and vancomycin. The detection rates of Bactec-PF and BacT/Alert-PF plus varied by antibiotic-strain combination and increased with the level of bacterial resistance. All three bottles achieved 100% detection in the amikacin group, whereas the detection rates were 0% in the ceftriaxone and meropenem groups. These findings provide important guidance for selecting blood culture systems in patients who have received prior antibiotic therapy and for improving the prognosis of bloodstream infections. IMPORTANCE: Rapid reporting of positive blood cultures can directly influence physicians' treatment decisions, thereby reducing mortality and improving patient outcomes. This study compared the time to detection (TTD) and antibiotic adsorption capacity of commonly used pediatric blood culture bottles and instruments, which are currently less evaluated. Providing optimized testing options for blood culture is essential to shorten the TTD and improve culture positivity rates in patients who have already received antibiotics.

Source: Microbiology Spectrum

DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02186-25