Identification of Bacterial Co-Detections in COVID-19 Critically Ill Patients by BioFire® FilmArray® Pneumonia Panel: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Timbrook, Tristan T.; Hueth, Kyle D.; Ginocchio, Christine C.

COVID-19 disease is associated with significant morbidity and mortality among patients admitted to the ICU. Bacterial coinfections may occur, and timely appropriate therapy may be limited with culture-based microbiology due to turnaround time and diagnostic yield challenges (e.g. antibiotic pre-exposure). We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the impact of BioFire® Pneumonia Panel in detecting bacteria and clinical management among critically ill COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU. Seven studies with 558 patients were included. Antibiotic use before respiratory sampling occurred in 28-79% of cases. The panel incidence of detections was 33% (95% CI 0.25 to 0.41, I(2)=32%) while culture yielded 18% (95% CI 0.02 to 0.45; I(2)=93%). The panel was associated with approximately a 1 and 2 day decrease in turnaround for identification and common resistance targets, respectively. The panel may be an important tool for clinicians to improve antimicrobial use in critically ill COVID-19 patients.