Date of Award

2020

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Honors Thesis

Department

Pharmacy

First Advisor

Jarrett Amsden

Abstract

Verigene® is one of many commercially available rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) for organism identification in blood culture. Community Health Network (CHNw) utilizes this system to identify blood cultures and guide antimicrobial therapy. As antibiotic resistance becomes more and more prevalent, limiting exposure to broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy is of paramount importance. RDT provides more timely information to providers, which if utilized appropriately, can result in the patient receiving appropriate antibiotic therapy in a shorter time and further limits unnecessary antibiotic exposure. This study was a three-part, retrospective chart review to determine the microbiological accuracy of Verigene® within CHNw and evaluate the use of Verigene® organism identification regarding antimicrobial de-escalation of Escherichia coli bacteremia. The results of this study show that providers should have increased confidence in the utilization and accuracy of Verigene®; however, in the case of E. coli bacteremia, Verigene® is still not being utilized to de-escalate therapy despite educational efforts. More robust education or additional methods/resources are needed to improve the utility of Verigene® within CHNw.

Share

COinS