An analysis of the efficacy of universal PCR and BACTEC 9120 BD for identifying bacteremia in pediatrics.

Background: Bloodstream infections (BSI) are serious diseases in pediatrics and can increase the rate of morbidity and mortality. Blood culture is time consuming and can have false negative results in some case such as the intracellular or fastidious bacteria. This study aimed to evaluate the PCR against automated blood culture with BACTEC.

Materials and methods: In this observational cross-sectional study the blood samples of hospitalized children in Mofid Children's Hospital with bacteremia signs from February to May 2023 were enrolled. The causative bacteria in bacteremia were identified by phenotypic and PCR methods.

Results: 150 blood samples were enrolled to identify the presence of bacteremia by BACTEC and PCR. 60% and 40% of samples have negative and positive results in both methods, respectively. PCR showed 100% sensitivity and specificity in detecting bacteremia compared to BACTEC. A variety of bacteria were identified by phenotypic and molecular methods and coagulase negative Staphylococcus (CONS) is the most of them.

Conclusion: The rapid and accurate detection of bacterial pathogens with the high sensitivity and specificity compared gold standard method are the most important profits of molecular assay.