Brahms' procalcitonin test:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Brahms has received US 510(k) clearance of its procalcitonin (PCT) Kryptor test to assess patients' risk for severe sepsis and septic shock. The test, which provides results in less than an hour, will be used in critically ill patients in the intensive care unit to determine whether an infection is bacterial or viral. Bacterial infections can be treated quickly with antibiotics, while these drugs can be avoided in patients with viral infection (inappropriate use of antibiotics contributes to the increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria). PCT levels are undetectable in healthy people, but bacterial infections cause levels to rise. This is not seen with viral infections. The first automated PCT test to reach the US market, bioMerieux's VIDAS B.R.A.H.M.S PCT test (licensed from Hennigsdorf, Germany-based Brahms in 2005), was approved in the US last October.