Selim Oncel, Speaker at Pediatrics Conferences

Kocaeli University, Turkey

Title : The impact of a multiplex PCR-Based Blood Culture Identification Panel (BCID2) on the management of sepsis in a pediatric population

Abstract:

Background: Rapid identification of pathogens in pediatric sepsis is critical for optimizing antimicrobial therapy and improving outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical impact of the multiplex PCR-based BioFire® Blood Culture Identification 2 (BCID2) Panel on the management of septicemia in children.
Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at a university hospital in Türkiye. The study group included 38 pediatric patients (0-18 years) with positive blood cultures analyzed with the BCID2 Panel alongside conventional methods. The control group consisted of 38 historical patients for whom only conventional methods were used. We compared the time to pathogen identification, impact on antimicrobial therapy modification, antimicrobial therapy duration, and 30-day mortality between the groups.
Results: The mean time to final pathogen identification was approximately 57.5 hours shorter with the BCID2 Panel compared to conventional culture (45.0 vs 102.5 hours), although this difference was not statistically significant in our sample (p=0.241). In the study group, empirical antimicrobial therapy was modified in 55.3% of patients based on BCID2 results. A significant association was found between the detection of Acinetobacter baumannii by the panel and subsequent therapy modification (p=0.029). While the overall diagnostic agreement between BCID2 and culture was high (98%), significant discrepancies were noted in the detection of antimicrobial resistance genes, particularly for carbapenemases like KPC (p<0.01). There was no significant difference in the total duration of therapy or 30-day mortality between the groups (15.8% vs. 13.9%, p>0.05).
Conclusion: The BCID2 Panel significantly reduces the time to pathogen identification in pediatric sepsis, enabling earlier, targeted therapeutic adjustments. However, its limitations in detecting all relevant phenotypic resistance mechanisms underscore the continued necessity of conventional culture and susceptibility testing for comprehensive antimicrobial stewardship.

Biography:

Born in Ankara on March 20, 1967, Selim Öncel graduated from Ankara Ayşeabla Primary School and later from Ankara Atatürk Anatolian High School in 1985, the year he entered Ankara University Faculty of Medicine. In 1989, he studied as an exchange student in Odense Hospital (Denmark). He earned “Doctor of Medicine” and “Specialist” degrees in Pediatrics and Child Health, and Family Medicine in 1991, 1997, and 1999, respectively (specialist degrees from Ministry of Health Ankara Training and Research Hospital). During 1999-2003, he worked in the Health Department of the Directorate General of Security, in various private health institutions, and in his own solo practice office as a pediatrician; he also gave seminars in pediatrics and child health for a private education company. He has done his military service in 200-Bed Soldiers’ Hospital in Sarıkamış as a pediatrician. Following the completion of his Pediatric Infectious Diseases fellowship in Ankara University Faculty of Medicine in 2006, he began to work in Kocaeli University as an Assisstant Professor of Pediatrics and Child Health. Selim Öncel became an Associate Professor of Pediatric Infectious Diseases in 2013.