Skip main navigation

New offer! Get 30% off one whole year of Unlimited learning. Subscribe for just £249.99 £174.99. New subscribers only. T&Cs apply

Find out more

Case 1: Use to improve AMS (Pneumonia)

In this video, Professor Bassetti presents a patient case study in which syndromic testing was used to add value to diagnosis, treatment and outcome.

In this video, Professor Bassetti presents a patient case study in which syndromic testing was used to add value to diagnosis, treatment and outcome.

Case summary

  • Patient admitted with hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) from the previous hospital stay for pancreatitis the week before
  • Patient showing classical signs of pneumonia
  • Patient septic so antibiotic therapy required immediately. Key risks/considerations included:
    • Risk of gram-negative (Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, and other Enterobacterales) infection, as well as Staphylococcus aureus, due to previous hospitalisation
    • Risk of viral origin, or even typical microbes of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) as the patient also spent time out of hospital
  • Patient prescribed piperacillin/tazobactam (pip/taz) alone
  • Syndromic test performed on bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL)

Case resolution

A few hours after the syndromic test was performed on the patient’s BAL sample, results showed that the causative agent was Streptococcus pneumoniae (seen in CAP). Pip/taz was therefore de-escalated, and the patient’s antibiotic therapy was changed to ceftriaxone (2 g/day).

This is a classic example of how syndromic testing can be used safely to optimise antimicrobial stewardship.

This article is from the free online

Syndromic Testing and Antimicrobial Stewardship

Created by
FutureLearn - Learning For Life

Reach your personal and professional goals

Unlock access to hundreds of expert online courses and degrees from top universities and educators to gain accredited qualifications and professional CV-building certificates.

Join over 18 million learners to launch, switch or build upon your career, all at your own pace, across a wide range of topic areas.

Start Learning now