Clinical Scorecard: The 5-Hour Sepsis Test: No Cultures Required

At a Glance

Key Highlights

• Culture-free assay detected 50% of tests positive compared to 12% for blood cultures.
• Sensitivity of the culture-free assay was close to 95% with a negative predictive value of 98%.
• Median turnaround time for results was just over 5 hours, significantly faster than conventional methods.

Guideline-Based Recommendations

Diagnosis

• Utilize culture-free assay for rapid identification of pathogens in suspected sepsis cases.

Management

• Integrate rapid test results with clinical context for timely therapeutic adjustments.

Monitoring & Follow-up

• Monitor for concordance between culture-free assay results and site-specific microbiological findings.

Risks

• Consider the potential for false positives or negatives, especially with fastidious organisms.

Patient & Prescribing Data

Patients in the ICU with suspected sepsis requiring rapid microbiological confirmation.

Early identification of pathogens can reduce unnecessary broad-spectrum antibiotic use.

Clinical Best Practices

• Read culture-free assay results within a clinical–microbiological framework.
• Correlate findings with site-of-infection microbiology and blood culture results.

References

• Sepsis Update Congress 2025