New life-saving sepsis test has ‘100% match rate’ with results in record time

SCIENTISTS have developed a new life-saving sepsis test that produces results in record time with a “100 percent match rate”.

It can take days for current tests to identify the pathogens that cause a life-threatening sepsis reaction.

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A test developed by Korean researchers could identify the species causing the infection in a matter of hours, with the potential to provide patients with targeted treatments more quickly.

Sepsis is a life-threatening reaction to an infection.

It occurs when the body’s immune system – which normally helps protect us and fight infections – overreacts to an infection and injures tissues and organs.

It can cause shock, multiple organ failure and sometimes death, especially if not recognized early and treated promptly, according to The UK Sepsis Fund.

Some people may develop sepsis in response to common illnesses, such as chest or urinary tract infections (UTIs) – it’s not known exactly why.

It mainly affects very young children and older adults, but can be triggered in anyone.

There is no single sign or diagnostic test to detect sepsis, which is usually treated with antibiotics.

According to researchers at Seoul National University, the treatment can be tailored to patients through what is known as antimicrobial susceptibility testing.

This uses cultures of bacterial or fungal samples taken from patients to determine which antibiotics would be most effective and whether the bacteria grow resistant to them.

However, this process of collecting and testing a blood culture sample typically takes two to three days.

This requires doctors to use a broad spectrum of antibiotics – classes of medicines that target an extensive range of disease-causing bacteria – however, in patients.

“This implies that often inappropriate prescriptions made
during the initial phase of treatment may compromise patient survival
until a valid AST result is available,” said the researchers – led by Prof Sunghoon Kwon – in the study published in the journal Nature.

“Although the disease can often be treatable, the patient’s outcome largely depends on the timing of treatment.

“Delays in the appropriate administration of antibiotics have been shown to have a significant impact on patient survival rates, particularly among those with septic shock.”

They added in a press release: “Finding ways to reduce the turnaround time associated with antimicrobial susceptibility testing is crucial to decreasing the risk of death from sepsis and reducing unnecessary antibiotic use.”

The team developed an ultra-fast antimicrobial susceptibility testing method, which eliminates the need for blood cultures.

Instead, researchers were able to perform drug susceptibility profiling directly from the patient’s whole blood – meaning none of its components need to be separated or removed.

Their method used a synthetic peptide to recover a wide range of pathogens from the blood, which can then be identified and tested for drug susceptibility.

The study authors stated that this new approach has the potential to reduce test turnaround time by more than 40–60 hours compared to existing methods.

The authors tested the method in a hospital environment, on 190 patients hospitalized with suspected infection.

They collected 5 to 10 ml of whole blood from each patient, from catheter lines and parts of the body where an abnormal increase in temperature was observed.

All samples were analyzed in accordance with hospital protocols as well as the new test.

The researchers’ method achieved a 100% match rate in species identification, they said.

For the six positive cases, the average test turnaround time was approximately 13 hours from initial blood processing.

Further clinical validation of the test is needed to verify the results in a diverse cohort of people, the authors noted.

“However, these results suggest that this method has the potential to reduce both the time needed to combat sepsis and the amount of unnecessary antibiotics used during broad-spectrum treatment,” they said.

Martha’s Rule

Named after teenager Martha Mills – who died from sepsis despite her parents’ pleas that she was not receiving the care she needed – the ‘Martha Rule’ gives patients the right to a second medical opinion.

Martha, 13, died from sepsis in 2021 after doctors were unable to take her to intensive care when her parents raised concerns about her rapidly deteriorating condition.

The rule will give patients and their families access to a quick review if they are concerned about their condition.

NHS England has committed to introducing ‘Martha’s Rule’ in at least 100 hospitals in February.

But it announced today that 143 sites will implement the rule change by March 2025, following “significant interest” from hospitals across the country.

The aim of Martha’s Rule is to provide “a consistent and understandable way for patients and families to seek an urgent review if their or their loved one’s condition deteriorates and they are concerned that this is not being responded to”, the NHSE said.

Described as a “three-step safety net”, the rule will be made up of three components.

Firstly, an escalation process will be available 24/7 at all 143 locations.

This will be announced on posters and leaflets in all hospitals, so that patients and families can contact an intensive care team who can quickly assess a case and escalate care if necessary.

Secondly, NHS staff will also have access to this same process if they have questions about a patient’s condition.

Finally, doctors at participating hospitals will also be required to formally record insights and information about a patient’s health provided daily by their families.

This will ensure that any worrying changes in behavior or condition observed by those who know the patient best are considered by staff, NHSE said.

Read more about ‘Martha’s Rule’ here.