September 2008

• 202 patients enrolled in study; 101 in notification group versus 101 in usual care group.
• 61 patients with S. aureus; 32 in notification group versus 29 in usual care group.
• 141 patients with CoNS; 69 in notification group versus 72 in usual care group.
• 44 patients in ICU versus 158 in non-ICU.
• 53 percent reduction in overall mortality; eight deaths in notification group versus 17 deaths in usual care group.
• 80 percent reduction in mortality rate for ICU patients; 10 percent (two deaths) for notification group versus 48 percent (11 deaths) for usual care group.
• 82 percent reduction in mortality rate for ICU patients with S. aureus; 10 percent for notification group versus 56 percent for usual care group.
• 67 percent reduction in median antibiotic use after notification of results; median of one year for notification group versus three days for usual care group.
• 100 percent reduction in median antibiotic use for CoNS patients after notification of PNA FISH results; zero days for notification group versus 2.5 days for usual care group.
• Trend toward $19,441 reduction in median hospital charges; $79,932 median charges for notification group versus $92,373 for usual care group
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Related Links

• In microbiology, speedy results with PNA probes