Abstract
Materials and methods
In a pilot study, results of real-time broad-range (16S rRNA) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) performed on 45 blood samples of pediatric cancer patients with fever and neutropenia were compared with blood culture results.
Results
The PCR assay used, having proven a high sensitivity in artificially spiked blood samples, was positive in only three of ten blood culture-positive samples, and it was positive in 10 of 35 (29%) culture-negative samples.
Conclusion
This broad-range PCR assay, which may identify not-grown bacteria potentially contributing to fever, needs improvement in sensitivity, and different reasons for positive PCR in negative blood culture samples need to be assessed before clinical application.
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Acknowledgments
We acknowledge Maja Beck Popovic, MD, Lausanne, Annette Ridolfi Lüthy, MD, Bern, and Pierre Wacker, MD, Geneva, members of the SPOG 2003 FN Pilot Eubacterial PCR Study Group Committee, for contributions in designing the study protocol, Andrea Wasem, RN, and Nadine Beusch, RN, for assistance in data collection, and Sibylle Gunziger and Gudrun Blessing for technical assistance.
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Provisional results of this study were presented in part at the 36th conference of the International Society of Pediatric Oncology (SIOP) in Oslo, September 2004 (Abstract PD.017).
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Ammann, R.A., Zucol, F., Aebi, C. et al. Real-time broad-range PCR versus blood culture. A prospective pilot study in pediatric cancer patients with fever and neutropenia. Support Care Cancer 15, 637–641 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-007-0235-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-007-0235-x