Clinical and economic impact of rapid reporting of bacterial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility results of the most frequently processed specimen types

Inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions are associated with an increase in healthcare costs and a decrease in the quality of care. The aim of this study was to measure the clinical and economic impact of rapid microbiological reporting on the specimens most frequently processed by the Microbiology Laboratory. The Vitek® 2 system (bioMérieux) was used for identification and susceptibility testing. Only hospitalized patients with bacterial infections were included. Two groups were established, a historical control group (results available the day following the analysis) and an intervention group (results available the same day of the analysis). Specimens studied and the median length of time from the introduction of the microorganism in the Vitek® 2 until microbiological report were as follows: wound and abscess (control = 23.5 h, intervention = 9.5 h, p < 0.001), blood (control = 23.5 h, intervention = 9.2 h, p < 0.001), and urine (control = 23.4 h, intervention = 9.3 h, p < 0.001). Outcome parameters were hospital stay and mortality rates. Hospital costs were calculated. The mortality rates did not differ significantly between the two groups. Faster reporting of identification and antimicrobial susceptibility results was associated with a significant reduction in hospital stay and in overall costs for those patients from whom wound, abscess, and urine specimens were analyzed. However, the antimicrobial results of blood culture isolates did not lead to significant clinical or financial benefits.