Clinical effect of in-house rapid diagnostic process on patients with bloodstream infections due to carbapenem-resistant bacteria or methicillin-resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> : a prospective cohort study

In this study, we included only patients whose bloodstream infection was caused by carbapenem-resistant bacterial strains or methicillin-resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>, avoiding the interference of empirical treatment for sensitive strains and allowing a clearer evaluation of the effects of laboratory-based rapid workflows. Moreover, this study covered all bloodstream infection cases from 1 January 2018 to 30 June 2023, with patients randomly grouped to minimize confounding factors. The results of this study demonstrated that this laboratory-based rapid workflow significantly shortened laboratory reporting times, which led to improvements in the rate and timing of adjustment of effective antibiotic therapy and a significant decrease in the mortality of patients with bloodstream infections. To the best of our knowledge, few studies have employed such a procedure to analyze clinical effects. Therefore, we believe that our research findings will encourage the implementation of laboratory-based rapid diagnosis for bloodstream infections.