Panel-based diagnostics for respiratory viral (RV) infections may be cost-effective in hospital settings, according to several abstracts presented at the Clinical Virology Symposium (May 19-22; Daytona Beach, Fla.). Population-specific implementation can yield improved patient outcomes and cost savings in the hospital’s emergency department and intensive care unit (ICU), but such comprehensive panels may not be cost effective in outpatient settings. Researchers from Geisinger Health System (Danville, Penn.) assessed the impact of rapid results of non-batched respiratory virus assays on downstream patient outcomes in the ICU. Geisinger performs multiplex RV testing prior to all admissions. From Nov. 1, 2010 to Mar 19, 2012, batch molecular RV testing (pre-intervention; n=278) was performed once per day for all inpatients (Luminex Corporation). From Mar. 19, 2012 to Apr. 30, 2014, this testing switched to a first-in first-out (FIFO), random access basis (post-implementation; n=462) with priority for ICU and emergency department orders (BioFire Diagnostics). Post-implementation there were significant improvements in 28-day mortality, length of stay (LOS), ICU days, ventilator days, antimicrobial (including viral and bacterial) utilization, laboratory test utilization, and total cost. The mean collect to report time (CTR) dropped by 30.5 hours for the post-implementation period. This reduction in CTR was associated with significantly […]