Bal A.Saz E.U.Arslan S.Y.Atik S.Bayturan S.Yurtseven A.Gazi H.Cicek C.Kurugol Z.Bal Z.S.2024-07-222024-07-22202213057707http://akademikarsiv.cbu.edu.tr:4000/handle/123456789/12498Objective Acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) declined after implementing conjugate Haemophilus influenzae type B and the pneumococcal vaccines worldwide. However, it still contributes to significant morbidity and mortality. The Biofire FilmArray Meningitis Encephalitis (FAME) panel can rapidly diagnose common bacterial and viral pathogens. Several studies suggested that the use of FAME may accelerate diagnosis and decrease the time to pathogen-specific therapy. However, the clinical utility is still controversial due to scarce data and relatively high costs. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of FAME in children. Methods A retrospective multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate FAME in diagnosing ABM in children with a suspected central nervous system infection between January 2017 and May 2021. Results This study consisted of 179 children diagnosed with central nervous system infection who had parallel testing done using FAME and traditional microbiological diagnostic methods. Twenty-two FAME results were positive; 8 (36.3%) were bacterial pathogens and 14 (53.7%) were viral pathogens . The most common viral pathogen was human herpesvirus 6 (n = 6; 27.2%), followed by herpes simplex virus 1 (n = 4; 18.1%), Enterovirus spp. (n = 2; 9%), Parechovirus (n = 2; 9%), and Cytomegalovirus (n = 1; 4.5%). Bacterial pathogens included S. pneumoniae (n = 3; 13.6%), H. influenzae (n = 3; 13.6%), Neisseria meningitidis (n = 1; 4.5%), and Streptococcus agalactiae (n = 1; 4.5%). Bacterial culture confirmed S. pneumoniae infection in only 1 of 8 (12.5%) patients, while 7 of 8 bacterial meningitis were only detected by FAME. Conclusion FAME may also help with diagnosis and pathogen identification in patients who have already had antibiotics before cerebrospinal fluid collection. The use of FAME to detect infections quickly may minimize the improper use of medications, treatment duration, and the cost of hospitalization. © 2022. Thieme. All rights reserved.EnglishampicillinC reactive proteinceftriaxonegentamicinglucoseHaemophilus influenzae type b vaccinePneumococcus vaccineantibiotic therapyantiviral therapyArticlebacterial meningitisbacterial virulencebacterium culturebehavior disordercentral nervous system infectioncerebrospinal fluid examinationchildconsciousness levelcross-sectional studyCytomegalovirusdemographicsdiagnostic procedurediagnostic test accuracy studyemergency wardEnterovirusfebrile convulsionfemalefeverfontanelHaemophilus influenzaeheadachehealth care costhospital costhumanHuman alphaherpesvirus 1Human herpesvirus 6hypoglycorrhachialethargyleukocyte countlumbar puncturemajor clinical studymalemicrobiological examinationmorbiditymortalitymulticenter studynausea and vomitingNeisseria meningitidisnested polymerase chain reactionneurologic diseaseneutrophil countnuchal rigidityParechoviruspediatric hospitalpersonality disorderpleocytosisprotein cerebrospinal fluid levelreal time polymerase chain reactionretrospective studyseizurestiff neckStreptococcus agalactiaeStreptococcus pneumoniaStreptococcus pneumoniaetreatment durationTurkey (republic)virus encephalitisvirus virulencevomitingArticle10.1055/s-0042-1756711