RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Mancini, Nicasio A1 Clerici, Daniela A1 Diotti, Roberta A1 Perotti, Mario A1 Ghidoli, Nadia A1 De Marco, Donata A1 Pizzorno, Beatrice A1 Emrich, Thomas A1 Burioni, Roberto A1 Ciceri, Fabio A1 Clementi, MassimoYR 2008 T1 Molecular diagnosis of sepsis in neutropenic patients with haematological malignancies JF Journal of Medical Microbiology, VO 57 IS 5 SP 601 OP 604 DO https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.47732-0 PB Microbiology Society, SN 1473-5644, AB The rapid diagnosis of an infectious cause in the course of fever of unknown origin plays a pivotal role in the correct management of neutropenic patients. In this study, blood samples from febrile oncohaematological patients were tested using a novel commercial real-time PCR assay (LightCycler SeptiFast; Roche Molecular Systems) and blood culture (BacT/Alert 3D; bioMérieux). Twenty-one (20.4 %) and 34 (33 %) of the 103 samples under study tested positive by blood culture and PCR, respectively. The analysis of concordance evidenced a low correlation between the two approaches (83 %), mainly due to samples that tested negative by culture but positive using the molecular approach. Among 14 discordant cases negative by culture but positive by PCR, 12 were observed in sequential samples of patients with initial concordant results on samples drawn before the administration of a specific antimicrobial therapy. Moreover, DNA of a fastidious organism, Aspergillus fumigatus, not easily detectable by the cultural approach was rapidly detected in the two remaining discordant cases. Overall, the characteristics featured by the molecular method could be of interest in the development of new algorithms for the diagnosis of sepsis in critical patients., UL https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.47732-0