Clinical evaluation of an in-house Xpert Lysate-based Method combined with MALDI-TOF MS for the rapid identification of positive blood cultures

Abstract Background In clinical practice, bloodstream infections (BSIs) can lead to a very high mortality rate. Rapid identification (ID) of the pathogenic bacteria in positive blood cultures (PBCs) can guide the clinical implementation of effective antibiotic treatment in advance, thereby helping t...

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Main Authors: Yili Ping, Qiong Chen, Xiling Sun, Haiyan Wang, Shaohua Lin, Bingwei Zhu, Zhejiong Wang, Jun Lu, Junmin Cao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-05-01
Series:BMC Microbiology
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12866-025-03996-4
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author Yili Ping
Qiong Chen
Xiling Sun
Haiyan Wang
Shaohua Lin
Bingwei Zhu
Zhejiong Wang
Jun Lu
Junmin Cao
author_facet Yili Ping
Qiong Chen
Xiling Sun
Haiyan Wang
Shaohua Lin
Bingwei Zhu
Zhejiong Wang
Jun Lu
Junmin Cao
author_sort Yili Ping
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background In clinical practice, bloodstream infections (BSIs) can lead to a very high mortality rate. Rapid identification (ID) of the pathogenic bacteria in positive blood cultures (PBCs) can guide the clinical implementation of effective antibiotic treatment in advance, thereby helping to reduce the mortality rate. Methods Using the Conventional Culture Method results as criteria, we evaluated the effectiveness of our newly developed in-house method, the Xpert Lysate-based Method, for rapidly identifying pathogens in PBCs across four hospitals. Results A total of 629 monomicrobial PBCs were investigated. The Xpert Lysate-based Method correctly identified 96.18% of PBCs at the species level and 97.30% at the genus level. When the confidence scores of MALDI-TOF MS were ≥ 2.000, ≥ 1.700, and ≥ 1.500, the percentages of correctly identified PBCs at the species level were 67.47%, 94.24%, and 98.88%, respectively. When the score threshold of species-level ID was set to 1.500, the rates reached 98.25% for Gram-positives (GPs), 93.54% for Gram-negatives (GNs), 70.00% for anaerobes, and 94.74% for fungi, respectively. The median confidence score of ≥ 2.000 indicated high certainty in identifying common BSI pathogens. Additionally, one of the microbial species was correctly identified in 10 out of 11 PBCs with polymicrobial growth. The entire operation process took an average of 10 min of hands-on time and 15 to 20 min for time-to-result. Conclusion The method of directly identifying microbial pellets using MALDI-TOF MS, extracted via the Xpert Lysate-based Method we developed, is non-inferior to the conventional Culture Method in terms of ID performance. Meanwhile, it is easy to operate and more time-efficient, making it suitable for routine workflow in the rapid etiological ID of PBCs.
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spelling doaj-art-9617157eb6604c6f8bf4065ab1f4a9e22025-08-20T03:53:46ZengBMCBMC Microbiology1471-21802025-05-0125111210.1186/s12866-025-03996-4Clinical evaluation of an in-house Xpert Lysate-based Method combined with MALDI-TOF MS for the rapid identification of positive blood culturesYili Ping0Qiong Chen1Xiling Sun2Haiyan Wang3Shaohua Lin4Bingwei Zhu5Zhejiong Wang6Jun Lu7Junmin Cao8Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine)Department of Laboratory Medicine, Hangzhou First People’s Hospital Affiliated of Westlake University School of MedicineDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine)Department of Laboratory Medicine, Jiaxing Xiuzhou District People’s HospitalDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine)Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine)Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine)Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Quzhou Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical UniversityDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine)Abstract Background In clinical practice, bloodstream infections (BSIs) can lead to a very high mortality rate. Rapid identification (ID) of the pathogenic bacteria in positive blood cultures (PBCs) can guide the clinical implementation of effective antibiotic treatment in advance, thereby helping to reduce the mortality rate. Methods Using the Conventional Culture Method results as criteria, we evaluated the effectiveness of our newly developed in-house method, the Xpert Lysate-based Method, for rapidly identifying pathogens in PBCs across four hospitals. Results A total of 629 monomicrobial PBCs were investigated. The Xpert Lysate-based Method correctly identified 96.18% of PBCs at the species level and 97.30% at the genus level. When the confidence scores of MALDI-TOF MS were ≥ 2.000, ≥ 1.700, and ≥ 1.500, the percentages of correctly identified PBCs at the species level were 67.47%, 94.24%, and 98.88%, respectively. When the score threshold of species-level ID was set to 1.500, the rates reached 98.25% for Gram-positives (GPs), 93.54% for Gram-negatives (GNs), 70.00% for anaerobes, and 94.74% for fungi, respectively. The median confidence score of ≥ 2.000 indicated high certainty in identifying common BSI pathogens. Additionally, one of the microbial species was correctly identified in 10 out of 11 PBCs with polymicrobial growth. The entire operation process took an average of 10 min of hands-on time and 15 to 20 min for time-to-result. Conclusion The method of directly identifying microbial pellets using MALDI-TOF MS, extracted via the Xpert Lysate-based Method we developed, is non-inferior to the conventional Culture Method in terms of ID performance. Meanwhile, it is easy to operate and more time-efficient, making it suitable for routine workflow in the rapid etiological ID of PBCs.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12866-025-03996-4Bloodstream infectionBlood cultureMALDI-TOF MSIn-houseTime-saving workflowLysis
spellingShingle Yili Ping
Qiong Chen
Xiling Sun
Haiyan Wang
Shaohua Lin
Bingwei Zhu
Zhejiong Wang
Jun Lu
Junmin Cao
Clinical evaluation of an in-house Xpert Lysate-based Method combined with MALDI-TOF MS for the rapid identification of positive blood cultures
BMC Microbiology
Bloodstream infection
Blood culture
MALDI-TOF MS
In-house
Time-saving workflow
Lysis
title Clinical evaluation of an in-house Xpert Lysate-based Method combined with MALDI-TOF MS for the rapid identification of positive blood cultures
title_full Clinical evaluation of an in-house Xpert Lysate-based Method combined with MALDI-TOF MS for the rapid identification of positive blood cultures
title_fullStr Clinical evaluation of an in-house Xpert Lysate-based Method combined with MALDI-TOF MS for the rapid identification of positive blood cultures
title_full_unstemmed Clinical evaluation of an in-house Xpert Lysate-based Method combined with MALDI-TOF MS for the rapid identification of positive blood cultures
title_short Clinical evaluation of an in-house Xpert Lysate-based Method combined with MALDI-TOF MS for the rapid identification of positive blood cultures
title_sort clinical evaluation of an in house xpert lysate based method combined with maldi tof ms for the rapid identification of positive blood cultures
topic Bloodstream infection
Blood culture
MALDI-TOF MS
In-house
Time-saving workflow
Lysis
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12866-025-03996-4
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