Syndromic infectious disease testing: the new paradigm

When parents of pediatric patients bring their children into the clinic or emergency room, they understandably want answers as quickly as possible. Since many pathogens can manifest with similar symptoms, the traditional route of testing for one pathogen at a time – often with 48–72 hours delay in obtaining results – can lead to worsening symptoms, unnecessary antibiotic therapy and increased length of stay in the hospital. But thanks to the BioFire FilmArray System and its ability to screen for multiple pathogens with just one test, laboratory and clinical staff are getting the answers they need in a clinically actionable time frame – typically in about one hour.