A group from Ghent University conducting an interventional study recently published two articles showing clinical benefits of ASTar System for patients with bacteremia caused by Gram-negative bacteria. The performance was good and ASTar results were available 17 hours faster than the standard workflow. In 17.6% of patients, the clinicians changed the initial antibiotic therapy within one hour of the ASTar results being available, due to resistance to the initial therapy. ASTar also showed an opportunity for adapting the therapy in 63% of patients and in half of these the therapy was adapted within three hours.

The second article shows how early detection of bacteria with specific resistance profiles can be facilitated by rapid MIC results from ASTar. Results from the ASTar System were available approximately six hours from positive blood culture from an immunocompromised patient and used in support of changed antimicrobial therapy 16 hours earlier than standard workflow.