7 Benefits of PCR Testing for Infectious Diseases

BioFire’s multiplex PCR testing is a game-changer for infectious disease diagnostics. The BioFire^® FilmArray^® System offers the power of molecular PCR testing with a rapid, easy-to-use approach.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a chemical process that rapidly and exponentially amplifies target nucleic acid. This process can produce millions to billions of copies of a particular segment of DNA or RNA. This enables researchers and laboratorians to take a very small amount of nucleic acid and amplify it into a large enough volume for sequencing, analysis, or experimentation.

With traditional PCR testing, samples are usually sent out to a laboratory for analysis, lengthening the time to results. However, the BioFire^® FilmArray^® Panel pouches require only two minutes of hands-on time for preparation. Then, all of the PCR processes occur automatically inside the pouch once it is inserted into a BioFire System instrument. This ease of use makes it possible for any tech at any size institution to perform PCR testing with the BioFire System.

Additionally, BioFire’s syndromic testing approach offers the ability to test for multiple targets in one, rapid PCR test. This is called multiplex PCR, and it involves amplifying multiple DNA targets in the same test.

Syndromic infectious disease testing from BioFire offers several benefits for laboratories, clinicians, and patients:

1. Faster Results

Each BioFire Panel returns results in about an hour. This means clinicians can receive results in a clinically relevant timeframe. The BioFire^® FilmArray^® Gastrointestinal (GI) Panel, for example, has been shown to reduce time to results by 84% on average compared with traditional testing methods.¹ When it comes to meningitis/encephalitis, traditional testing takes 13 hours to return results from the time the lab receives a sample. With the BioFire^® FilmArray^® Meningitis/Encephalitis (ME) Panel, the time from sample collection to diagnosis was found to be just three hours on average.²

2. Shorter Time to Optimal Therapy

Faster results enable clinicians to make treatment decisions more quickly. The BioFire^® FilmArray^® Blood Culture Identification (BCID) Panel, in conjunction with antimicrobial stewardship interventions, has been shown to decrease time to optimal therapy by 33.5 hours.³

3. Improve Treatment Decisions

With fast answers on comprehensive panels, clinicians can better target therapy. One study found the BioFire GI Panel led to a 41% increase in targeted therapy.⁴

4. Avoid Unnecessary Antibiotics

When clinicians have fast diagnostic results, they are less likely to prescribe empiric therapy, and patients who won’t benefit from antibiotics are less likely to receive them. The BioFire^® FilmArray^® Respiratory (RP) Panel has been shown to reduce the duration of antibiotic use.⁵ And with the BioFire GI Panel, antibiotics were 11% less likely to be prescribed.⁶

5. Support Antimicrobial Stewardship Efforts

BioFire Panels help give clinicians the information they need in a clinically relevant timeframe, helping to avoid unnecessary antibiotics. Furthermore, the BioFire^® FilmArray^® Pneumonia (PN) Panel includes seven targets for antimicrobial resistance genes, which provides clinicians with key information when making prescribing decisions. The BioFire Blood Culture Identification (BCID, BCID2) Panels also include antimicrobial resistance gene targets. Pairing the BioFire BCID Panel with antimicrobial stewardship has been shown to decrease the time to appropriate antibiotic de-escalation.⁷

6. Reduce Unnecessary Testing

Fast answers can also help reduce downstream testing: use of the BioFire GI Panel was found to reduce procedures like endoscopies, X-rays, CT scans, and ultrasounds.^1,6

7. Reduce Healthcare Costs

The clinical and workflow benefits of testing with the syndromic BioFire Panels can also have an economic impact. Reduced antibiotic use, shorter hospital stays, and fewer diagnostic tests are all areas for potential cost savings. The BioFire RP Panel, for example, led to a decrease in length of hospital stay of 1.1 days, compared with a control group.⁸ With the BioFire GI Panel, observed savings per patient reached $293.61, and this figure doesn’t even account for a reduction in laboratory testing when serial and repeat tests are avoided.¹

BioFire’s PCR testing for infectious diseases provides proven operational, clinical, and economic benefits. That’s why the BioFire Panels are the right test, the first time for laboratories and healthcare providers.

Explore more information about multiplex PCR testing:

Lab technician loading a syndromic testing pouch into the BioFire® Torch System.

References:

Beal S, et al. J Clin Microbiol. 2018 Jan. 56:1 e01457-17.
Messacar K, et al. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2016 Sep;86(1):118-20.
Messacar K, et al. J Ped Infect Dis Soc. 2017;6(3):267-274.
Cybulski et al. CID. Nov 2018, 13;67(11):1688-1696.
Rogers B, et al. Arch. Path. & Lab. Med. 2015;139(5): 636-41.
Axelrad JE, et al. J of Clin. Microbiology. 2019; 27;57(3). e01775-18.