The Clinical Significance of FilmArray Respiratory Panel in Diagnosing Community-Acquired Pneumonia

Chen, Huanzhu; Weng, Huilan; Lin, Meirui; He, Ping; Li, Yazhen; Xie, Qingdong; Ke, Changwen; Jiao, Xiaoyang

For considering the cost of reagent, the FilmArray RP is more expensive than multiple PCRs; the reagent and consumable costs (in RMB) for the FilmArray RP and the multiple PCR were calculated to be $230 and $40 per patient, respectively. However, the FilmArray RP is essential for the administration of appropriate antiviral therapy, which dramatically shortens hands-on time (62.7 hours versus 1.2 hours); the reduction in average time to discontinuation of oseltamivir resulted in cost savings of approximately US$34.16 per patient [30] . In addition, FilmArray RP results in overall decreased duration of antibiotic use of half a day, a shorter stay (a quarter of a day less) in the hospital following admission and reduced time spent in isolation (a third of a day less) for patients who were viral positive after implementation of the FilmArray RP [12, 31] . Therefore, the clinical significance is far beyond its cost. Compared with multiple PCR, the FilmArray RP provides instant care testing results with a simplified enhanced workflow, compared with laboratory-developed PCR (LD-PCR) [32] .