Direct Identification of Major Blood Culture Pathogens, Including Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli , by a Panel of Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization Assays Using Peptide Nucleic Acid Probes

Rapid identification of four major pathogens from 1,231 positive blood cultures by fluorescence in situ hybridization with peptide nucleic acid probes (AdvanDx Inc., Woburn, Mass.) was evaluated. For Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans results agreed with conventional identification. The lower sensitivity of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa assay should not compromise the utility of the four assays.