The role of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) broad spectrum in the etiologic diagnosis of sepsis

Abstract

Sepsis is responsible for a high rate of hospitalization and mortality. Due to the severity of the clinical and the limitations of traditional methods for bacterial identification and isolation, it is recommended to start empirical broad-spectrum antimicrobial. The development of molecular biology, particularly the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), made possible to realize a rapid diagnosis of infectious agents. However, due to the diversity of possible etiologic agents in sepsis, the use of PCR with primers specific for each agent becomes impractical. With the broad-spectrum PCR it is possible in a single reaction to identify any bacteria, allowing early and directed treatment. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the role of broad-spectrum PCR for the etiology of patients with sepsis and the comparison of this technique with traditional methods of culture. Will be selected patients with diagnosis of sepsis treated in the Emergency Unit of Clinical Hospital of Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto - USP. In every sample, collected in the peripheral blood, the DNA is extracted from serum and buffy-coat, with subsequent performance of broad-spectrum PCR followed by sequencing, data analysis and comparison of results with traditional methods of culture. If the results improve the positivity of diagnostic tests and, therefore, also an improvement in clinical outcome of patients and reducing the use of broad spectrum antibiotics, this test can be incorporated into the routine of the Emergency Unit of our Hospital. (AU)