This study suggests that the detection of cmDNA allows earlier diagnosis of IWM in severely ill burn patients and earlier initiation of treatment. Further studies are needed to confirm the impact of earlier treatment initiation on patient outcome.

No abstract

The FilmArray® Pneumonia Plus (FA-PP) panel can provide rapid identifications and semi-quantitative results for many pathogens. We performed a prospective single-center study in 43 critically ill patients with COVID-19, in which we performed 96 FA-PP tests and cultures of blind bronchoalveolar lavage (BBAL). FA-PP detected one or more pathogens in 32% (31/96 of samples), whereas culture methods detected at least one pathogen in 35% (34/96 of samples). The most prevalent bacteria detected were Pseudomonas aeruginosa ( n = 14) and Staphylococcus aureus ( n = 11) on both FA-PP and culture. The FA-PP results from BBAL in critically ill patients with COVID-19 were consistent with bacterial culture findings for bacteria present in the FA-PP panel; showing sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value of 95%, 99%, 82% and 100%, respectively. Median turnaround time for FA-PP was 5.5 hours, which was significantly shorter than for standard culture (26 hours) and AST results (57 hours).