The case in summary A machine originally bought for corona testing helps Helgeland’s hospital to treat blood poisoning earlier by reducing the waiting time for test results by several days. Previously, blood samples had to be sent to a microbiology laboratory for analysis, which could take several days. Research carried out by Helgeland Hospital, Nordland Hospital and the University of Tromsø shows that the machine has an accuracy of 97.8 per cent in identifying the bacteria that cause blood poisoning. This is particularly important for patients in local hospitals, as it can provide more targeted treatment and reduce the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, which can lead to resistance to antibiotics. The research has attracted attention both nationally and internationally, and was published in the international Journal of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology (APMIS). The next step is to examine what effect the previous test results have on the patients’ prognoses. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Every year, 10,000 people in Norway get the serious condition of blood poisoning. Around 20 percent of those who get the infection die from it. In order to be able to treat the infection as best as possible, it is important to quickly find out which bacteria are causing the infection. Now two doctors at Helgeland Hospital and Nordland Hospital, in collaboration with UiT, have shown that a “new” test reduces the waiting time for test results by up to several days. – We think these are extremely important findings, especially for patients admitted to local hospitals. This machine was actually bought in for corona testing at the hospital in Mosjøen and many of the country’s hospitals. Now it has a new and important job. Photo: Lars-Petter Kalkenberg / news This is what the medical director of Helgeland’s hospital, Hege Harboe-Sjåvik, tells news. The key? A machine that was actually bought in for corona testing. But very first: let’s understand how such samples have been analyzed in the past. Must send the samples by post Patients who are admitted to hospital with suspicion of blood poisoning have a blood sample taken from them. But to detect which bacteria is the cause of the infection, the sample must be sent to a microbiological laboratory. Photo: Lars-Petter Kalkenberg / news This is far from all local hospitals in Norway. For Helgeland, the nearest laboratory of this type is at Nordlandssykehuset in Bodø. – There we often have to wait several days before we have the test answer. In the meantime, you treat the patients with what you think will work, very often a broad-spectrum antibiotic, says Harboe-Sjåvik. Medical director Hege Harboe-Sjåvik. Photo: Lars-Petter Kalkenberg / news It is only when the test results from the laboratory are ready that the doctors know which bacteria is to blame, and that they can treat the patient with targeted, often narrow-spectrum antibiotics. – Initially, this took a long time, and in some cases the patient could either have finished treatment, been discharged or died before the answer came. This is according to Kristoffer Hammer Endresen, senior physician at the diagnostic clinic at Nordlandssykehuset in Bodø. Therefore, they asked themselves if there was any way to shorten this process. The answer could lie in a machine that several hospitals in Norway bought during the corona pandemic. Photo: Lars-Petter Kalkenberg / news Bought a rapid test machine during the pandemic A very similar problem arose when the coronavirus ravaged Norway. Helgeland’s hospital wanted to know whether the patients who were admitted to the hospital had to be in isolation or not. – Then it took too long to send the samples up here to Bodø, explains Hammer Endresen. Therefore, the laboratory in Bodø recommended a machine with which they already had experience. Photo: Lars-Petter Kalkenberg / news In addition to being able to detect coronavirus, it could also examine blood and spinal fluid in the case of suspected meningitis. The machines were purchased and placed at Helgeland Hospital’s laboratories in Mosjøen, Mo i Rana and Sandnessjøen, as well as in Lofoten and Vesterålen. – Even though the primary use was intended for pandemics, we knew there was greater potential, says Hammer Endresen. Blood poisoning (Sepsis) Blood poisoning is an infection with bacteria in the blood, high fever and affected general condition. Anyone can get blood poisoning, but it is most common in the elderly and in people who are weakened by other illnesses. All bacteria can cause blood poisoning. Blood poisoning is caused by an infection somewhere in the body having passed into the blood. The triggering cause can be pneumonia, urinary tract infection, skin infection or other infections. Symptoms are high fever, chills and weakened general condition, rapid pulse, rapid breathing rate, low blood pressure, and often altered mental functioning. Many elderly people develop vague symptoms such as fatigue, lethargy, acute confusion, and unconsciousness. Early in the course, the skin is often warm and reddish, later often cold, pale and clammy. Patients with sepsis must be taken to the nearest hospital for examinations. The main treatment is fluid therapy, oxygen supplementation and antibiotics. Often the patient can return to daily life without lasting pain. But blood poisoning can also cause serious and life-threatening complications such as circulatory failure, respiratory failure, blood clotting failure, kidney failure, liver failure and blood acidosis. Older people are at greater risk of adverse complications. Untreated sepsis is very serious, and it is therefore important that patients with signs of serious infection are taken to hospital. Early diagnosis and treatment improve the prognosis. Source: Norsk Helseinformatikk og Felleskatalogen But even though the potential of the machine was there, no one in Norway had used it to routinely analyze blood poisoning before. – In the Norwegian setting, it is new work, says Hammer Endresen. Senior doctor Kristoffer Hammer Endresen at the microbiology laboratory at Nordlandssykehuset in Bodø. Photo: Ola Helness / news They therefore wanted to ensure quality that the test answers were precise enough. Then Helgelandssykehuset, together with Nordlandssykehuset and CANS – Center for new antibacterial strategies at the University of Tromsø, chose to research the test results themselves. 98 percent accurate The researchers went through 160 blood samples with bacteria that had been taken at Helgeland Hospital from July to December 2021. The tests were done at the local hospitals, and double-checked at the microbiological laboratory in Bodø. – The machine can test for a “menu” that contains almost 90 percent of the bacteria that cause blood poisoning in Norway. On these bacteria, the machine showed an accuracy of 97.8 percent, says Hammer Endresen. Senior doctor Kristoffer Hammer Endresen at the microbiology laboratory at Nordlandssykehuset in Bodø. Photo: Ola Helness / news The findings have attracted attention both nationally and internationally. In January, the research was published in the international Journal of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology (APMIS). – We have seen that there is very good agreement between the test results, and on average two days were saved – in some cases even longer – from having to wait for a response from the laboratory, says Harboe-Sjåvik. She believes the findings are particularly important for patients in local hospitals. – Because we are concerned that the patients should have equal treatment, she says. Helgelands hospital in Mosjøen. Photo: Helgelandssykehuset HF Harboe-Sjåvik continues: – The bigger perspective is that in many cases you get the opportunity to give more narrow-spectrum antibiotics. If one does not have to give broad-spectrum antibiotics too extensively, then it is a huge advantage – both at a societal level and for the patient. This is because extensive use of broad-spectrum antibiotics can lead to antibiotic resistance. The next step will be to research what actual effect the previous test results have on the patients and their prognoses. The Directorate: – Up to the hospitals to assess – We see it as positive that the methodology can be used for various analyses. Such use must always correspond to the manufacturer’s purpose for the equipment, says unit manager Petter Aleksander Strømme in the Directorate for Medical Products (DMP), formerly the Norwegian Medicines Agency. Photo: DMP – Is this method good enough, compared to traditional procedures? – When businesses or hospitals purchase equipment, they must ensure that the medical equipment is suitable for their use. It is therefore up to the hospitals and clinical environments to assess the introduction of traditional or new methodology. When asked how many local hospitals in Norway have such a machine, DMP states that they do not have an overview of this.
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This machine can revolutionize the treatment of the seriously ill in rural areas – news Nordland
