Interpreting the results of rapid molecular diagnostic tests for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales infection: current clinical perspective while waiting for further evidence.
Daniele Roberto GiacobbeVincenzo Di PilatoAntonio VenaAnna MarcheseMatteo BassettiPublished in: Expert review of molecular diagnostics (2024)
When considering studies actually measuring the clinical impact of rapid molecular tests in real-life scenarios, high certainty evidence from randomized controlled trials is still limited and not focused on CRE infections. Nonetheless, it is indisputable that rapid molecular tests have been shown to impact early therapeutic choices (in terms of both escalation and de-escalation) when used in real-life settings, thus issues in the clinical interpretation of their results are already relevant. Overall, increased expertise is required for the appropriate interpretation of rapid molecular tests for personalized antibiotic selection by understanding their strengths and limitations.