Purpose

Bacterial blood stream infections are common and life-threatening. Bloodstream infections have historically been identified using blood cultures, which often take 24-72 hours to result and are imperfectly sensitive. Early administration of antimicrobial therapy is a fundamental component of the management of adults presenting to the hospital with a suspected bloodstream infection and/or sepsis. But because blood cultures frequently take 24-72 hours to result, patients are typically treated with empiric, broad spectrum antibiotics. In a meta-analysis of sepsis studies, empirical antibiotic therapy was inappropriate for the organism that ultimately grew in culture in almost half of patients. Thus, patients are commonly exposed to unnecessary antibiotics without evidence of infection or with evidence of infection requiring narrow antibiotic selection. For example, current guidelines recommend the use of empiric intravenous vancomycin as coverage for a bloodstream infection caused by the bacterial pathogen methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Vancomycin requires careful monitoring due to its narrow therapeutic range and high risk of toxicity. Administration of vancomycin to patients who do not have MRSA can lead to avoidable adverse drug events and costs, as well as drive antimicrobial resistance. There has been increasing interest in using rapid diagnostic tests that identify bacteria directly from whole blood samples without relying on growth in culture, referred to as "direct-from-blood" tests, to guide early therapeutic management of patients with suspected bloodstream infections in addition to standard blood cultures. One such FDA-approved, direct-from-blood test is the T2Bacteria® Panel. This panel's performance as a direct-from blood test for bacterial pathogens has been described in previous studies. A recent meta-analysis of largely observational studies reported a faster transition to targeted microbial therapy and de-escalation of empirical microbial therapy, as well as a shorter duration of intensive care unit stay and hospital stay for patients who received this direct-from-blood test. We will conduct a pragmatic, randomized clinical trial examining the effect of using the T2Bacteria® Panel direct from-blood testing, compared to using blood cultures alone (standard of care), on antimicrobial receipt and clinical outcomes for adults presenting to the hospital with suspected infection and who have been initiated on empiric therapy with intravenous vancomycin.

Conditions

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Over 18 Years
Eligible Genders
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

Inclusion Criteria

  • Patient is located in the Emergency Department at Vanderbilt University Hospital - ≤ 12 hours from patient presentation to the Emergency Department at Vanderbilt University Hospital - Age ≥ 18 years - Clinician has ordered blood cultures - Clinician has ordered intravenous vancomycin

Exclusion Criteria

  • Patient is known to be a prisoner - Patient is known to be pregnant - Patient is known to have received 2 or more doses of vancomycin since presentation to the Vanderbilt ED - Patient is known to have a positive bacterial culture in the previous 7 days - Patient is known to have an infection for which at least 7 days of intravenous vancomycin would routinely be administered regardless of bacterial testing results (e.g., skin and soft tissue infection, etc.)

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Parallel Assignment
Intervention Model Description
This study will be performed as a pragmatic, randomized controlled clinical trial with parallel group assignment.
Primary Purpose
Health Services Research
Masking
None (Open Label)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Active Comparator
Usual Care
Patients will receive blood cultures and will not receive direct-from-blood testing.
  • Other: Usual Care
    Standard blood cultures.
Active Comparator
Direct-from-blood testing
In addition to usual care, patients will receive direct-from-blood testing using the T2Bacteria® Panel.
  • Other: T2Bacteria® Panel (direct-from-blood testing)
    Providers will be prompted to order the T2Bacteria® Panel (direct-from-blood testing) and accompanying communications regarding panel results will be delivered.

More Details

Status
Active, not recruiting
Sponsor
Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Study Contact

Notice

Study information shown on this site is derived from ClinicalTrials.gov (a public registry operated by the National Institutes of Health). The listing of studies provided is not certain to be all studies for which you might be eligible. Furthermore, study eligibility requirements can be difficult to understand and may change over time, so it is wise to speak with your medical care provider and individual research study teams when making decisions related to participation.