This week, Q-linea partnered with 360Dx to host a webinar that is now available for playback on demand here. The webinar featured Dr. Elizabeth Garrett of Penn State College of Medicine and Dr. Rebecca Yee of George Washington University discussing interim results from their respective evaluations of the ASTar system. These microbiology labs each receive between 15,000 and 30,000 blood cultures annually.

In both laboratories, the ASTar produced minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) results approximately 36 hours faster than the standard of care instruments, providing opportunities for earlier interventions by clinicians to optimize antibiotic therapy. The presenters also highlighted the ease of use of the system and positive feedback from technicians using the instrument, as well as the value of consumables that can be stored at room temperature.

The study design also includes partnering with the hospitals’ antimicrobial stewardship teams to conduct retrospective chart reviews to determine what actions clinicians may have taken with access to the rapid antibiotic susceptibility test (AST) results. In an early dataset from George Washington University, chart reviews revealed that 44% of patients would have been exposed to fewer antibiotics had the study results been available clinically. Additionally, the rapid AST results would have enabled antibiotic de-escalation in 33% of patients, antibiotic escalation in 22% of patients, and potential reduction in length of stay in 22% of patients.

Next steps for both hospital labs include completing enrollment of patient samples, finalizing retrospective chart reviews, and preparing a manuscript to publish their findings.