Evaluation of the BioFire® FilmArray® Meningitis/Encephalitis panel in an adult and pediatric Ugandan population.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Meningitis causes significant mortality in sub-Saharan Africa and limited diagnostics exist. We evaluated the utility of the BioFire® FilmArray® Meningitis/Encephalitis multiplex PCR panel (BioFire ME) in HIV-infected adults and HIV-infected and uninfected children presenting with suspected meningitis in Uganda.

Methods

We tested cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) using a stepwise meningitis diagnostic algorithm including BioFire ME. We determined the diagnostic performance of BioFire ME for cryptococcal meningitis, using cryptococcal antigen (CrAg) and CSF culture as reference standards, and assessed other central nervous system (CNS) pathogens identified by the panel.

Results

We evaluated 328 adult and 42 pediatric CSF specimens using BioFire ME. Of the adult CSF

SUBMITTER: Bridge S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9983612 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature