Director BW Sykes Consultancy Upper Orara, New South Wales, Australia
Disclosure(s):
Ben Sykes, BSc BVMS MSc MBA DACVIM PhD FHEA: No relevant disclosure to display
Presentation Description / Summary: Diagnosis or exclusion of Salmonella shedding has traditionally relied on multiple cultures, typically 5, collected over a 3-5 day period. PCR has many advantages over culture including a higher sensitivity, but until recently limited availability and long turnaround times has limited its application for serial patient screening in the clinical setting. Point-of-care (POC) PCR has a rapid turnaround ( < 24 hours) and is now readily available for Salmonella testing in-house. This talk will review the application of POC PCR testing in the context of serial patient testing and environmental testing. The advantages and disadvantages of these approaches will be discussed. The talk includes a proposed, simplified, PCR based testing protocol based on currently available evidence that is cheaper and faster than existing culture protocols, while maintaining a high degree of accuracy.
Learner Outcomes: - Discuss the rationale behind repeated testing for salmonella in clinical patients. - Discuss the application of repeated PCR testing for salmonella in clinical patients. - Discuss pooling strategies in applying PCR technology for salmonella testing of patients and the environment.
Learning Objectives:
Discuss the importance of testing for salmonella in the hospital environment.
Define the advantages and disadvantages of POC testing c.f. traditional culture methods.
Outline a protocol for POC PCR testing in an equine hospital facility.
