Clinical Evaluation of the iCubate iC-GPC Assay for Detection of Gram-Positive Bacteria and Resistance Markers from Positive Blood Cultures

J Clin Microbiol. 2018 Aug 27;56(9):e00485-18. doi: 10.1128/JCM.00485-18. Print 2018 Sep.

Abstract

The iC-GPC Assay (iCubate, Huntsville, AL) is a qualitative multiplex test for the detection of five of the most common Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Enterococcus faecalis, and Enterococcus faecium) responsible for bacterial bloodstream infections, performed directly from positive blood cultures. The assay also detects the presence of the mecA, vanA, and vanB resistance determinants. This study comparatively evaluated the performance of the iC-GPC Assay against the Verigene Gram-positive blood culture (BC-GP) assay (Luminex Corp., Austin, TX) for 1,134 patient blood culture specimens positive for Gram-positive cocci. The iC-GPC Assay had an overall percent agreement with the BC-GP assay of 95.5%. Discordant specimens were further analyzed by PCR and a bidirectional sequencing method. The results indicate that the iC-GPC Assay together with the iCubate system is an accurate and reliable tool for the detection of the five most common Gram-positive bacteria and their resistance markers responsible for bloodstream infections.

Keywords: Gram-positive cocci; blood culture; iCubate; resistance genes.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Evaluation Study
  • Multicenter Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Bacteremia / diagnosis*
  • Bacteremia / microbiology
  • Bacteriological Techniques / methods*
  • Bacteriological Techniques / standards
  • Blood Culture
  • Drug Resistance, Bacterial / genetics*
  • Genes, Bacterial / genetics
  • Gram-Positive Bacteria / classification
  • Gram-Positive Bacteria / genetics
  • Gram-Positive Bacteria / isolation & purification*
  • Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / diagnosis*
  • Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / microbiology
  • Humans
  • Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / methods*
  • Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / standards
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction / standards