Types of Syndromic testing

As mentioned in the previous week of the course, syndromic testing can rapidly detect multiple pathogens that cause overlapping signs and symptoms. Even though these often come in the form of panels with multiple likely microbial targets, it is not feasible to have every microbe target possible on a single panel. In this video, Professor Matteo Bassetti discusses some available syndromic testing panels.

Different rapid syndromic panels are available for different clinical syndromes. For instance, there are panels that focus on different infectious illnesses such as:

• Bloodstream infections

• Central nervous system (CNS) infections

• Upper respiratory infections

• Lower respiratory infections

• Gastrointestinal infections

• Joint infections

These panels contain targets of the main microorganisms responsible for these illnesses and can thus identify the causative pathogen(s), and resistance genes, quickly. The instrument, time to results, and targets of these panels will vary across manufacturers. Some specific examples are provided in the downloads section below.

References cited in the video have been provided as links in the see also section below.