The NHS is trialling a rapid blood test to help diagnose life-threatening conditions in children.
The 15-minute blood test can speed up the diagnosis of illnesses such as sepsis or meningitis by telling medical practitioners whether a patient is suffering from a bacterial or viral infection.
Instead of relying on regular blood test results, which can take several hours and require lab analysis, the test can rapidly indicate whether a patient has a bacterial infection that could benefit from immediate antibiotics.
Doctors who participated in the trial say they have witnessed the benefits. In one case, a child with meningococcal meningitis received treatment much more quickly, and another with sepsis started antibiotics straight away.
NHS England has funded a trial of the technology in three emergency departments: at Alder Hey children’s hospital in Liverpool, St Mary’s hospital in London and Great North children’s hospital in Newcastle.
Enitan Carrol, professor of paediatric infection at the University of Liverpool, who is leading the project, said: “Many of the children who come to hospital have a fever and this test can quickly distinguish between a minor viral illness like a cold, or a more serious infection.
“Our study is investigating whether this definitive test for a bacterial or viral infection will be useful in helping doctors make faster decisions and reducing the use of unnecessary antibiotics – all of which is better for patients and the NHS.”
Dr Charlotte Durand, a consultant in paediatric emergency medicine at Alder Hey, said the test “could have a massive impact on the emergency care of paediatric patients”.
Dr Ron Daniels, founder and chief medical officer of the UK Sepsis Trust, told the PA news agency the test could save lives.
He said: “A recent national publication suggested that, among the deaths of approximately 500 children each year where infection was present, care was suboptimal in 40% of cases.
“Making the right decision around early antimicrobial prescribing in children who need antibiotics the most has potential to save dozens of young lives every year.”
Daniels said severe infections and sepsis are “one of the greatest acute illness burdens facing our NHS”, while resistance to antibiotics, which is largely caused by overprescribing, also affects thousands of patients.
He added: “Using antibiotics more wisely – meaning both withholding them in people who won’t benefit and giving them urgently to people who need them most – has never been more important. Although the study is in children, previous studies have shown its performance to be even better in adults, meaning there is potential opportunity across all ages.
The study looking at the MeMed BV test will run until March.
