Performance of automated real-time PCR-based method for bacteria detection

In the field of bacterial disease diagnosis, a rapid detection of the causative pathogen(s) may help initiation of appropriate antimicrobial treatment. Culture based methods are considered as standard methods, though they are time consuming. A more rapid assay for bacterial identification would have several benefits compared to culture methods. Nucleic acid amplification-based methods are significantly faster and are increasingly being utilized to detect specific pathogens from various sample types. Here, we present a proof of concept for a fully automated real-time PCR-based identification method for specific bacteria. We were able to detect 87% of culture positive samples from various sample types with a turnaround time of approximately two hours. Such an approach might provide a relatively easy and cost-effective method for indicating bacteria presence in a patient sample.