Detection of carbapenem-resistant enterobacterales in simulated blood culture in 15 minutes

Bacteremia leading to sepsis and organ dysfunction is a life-threatening situation, leading to death of up to one fourth of the infected individuals around the world. One major challenge in the treatment of sepsis is the rising prevalence of antibiotic resistant bacteria, such as carbapenemresistant Enterobacterales (CRE). In recent years, several molecular assays have been developed for the detection of CRE mechanisms, enabling rapid results reporting. We evaluated the performance of the NG-Test CARBA 5 (NG Biotech) kit in detection of CRE in simulated blood cultures. Carbapenemase- producing (CP) CRE isolates (n = 38) and non-carbapenemase CRE (Non-CP) isolates (n = 10), previously identified using the routine methods practiced at the clinical microbiology laboratory of the Baruch Padeh Medical Center, Israel, were used in this analysis. Variable concentrations of the bacterial isolates were added to a suspension composed of human blood and saline, simulating the composition of a blood culture. Samples were then transferred to an anaerobic blood culture bottle and later tested with the NG-Test CARBA 5 (NG Biotech) kit, that identifies the CRE mechanism within 15 minutes. The NG-Test CARBA 5 kit correctly identified 43 samples (89.5%). The sensitivity and specificity of the kits were 86.8% and 100%, respectively. In conclusion, the NG-Test CARBA 5 kit is a reliable and accessible tool for the rapid diagnosis of CRE bloodstream infections.