Detection of gastrointestinal pathogens in stool samples using a rapid multiplex PCR test at a large tertiary pediatric hospital

Acute gastrointestinal infections (AGIs) and diarrheal disease disproportionately impact children. The purpose of this study was to characterize the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of pediatric patients who had stool samples tested using the BIOFIRE® FILMARRAY® Gastrointestinal Panel at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio from January 2016 to December 2020. Detection rates were estimated by pathogen. Poisson and logistic regression were used to assess trends and identify risk factors for detection. A total of 12,783 patients had 17,611 stool samples tested during the study period. Nearly half of stool samples (47.3 %) tested positive for at least one pathogen. Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, Clostridioides difficile, and norovirus were the most commonly detected. Overall annual detection rates for most pathogens increased from 2016 to 2019 and declined in 2020. This paper presents an analysis of five years of data that characterizes detection, hospitalizations, and deaths of children tested for AGI pathogens by sociodemographics.