T2 Biosystems highlights peer-reviewed article on COVID-19, sepsis

T2 Biosystems announced the publication of a peer-reviewed article published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. "We are grateful to these distinguished authors for reinforcing the CDC’s call for adoption and implementation of early and accurate microbial diagnosis to guide targeted antimicrobial treatment, directly aligning with the value proposition of T2’s technology," stated John Sperzel, Chairman and CEO of T2 Biosystems. "Sepsis continues to exact a heavy human and financial toll, and disproportionally impacts minorities and underserved communities. We believe our FDA-cleared T2Dx Instrument, T2Bacteria Panel, and T2Candida Panel can help advance the standard of care and offer the ideal solution to rapidly and accurately detect sepsis-causing pathogens and provide the information required to allow clinicians to achieve faster, targeted antimicrobial therapy." Title: Meeting the Challenges of Sepsis in Severe COVID-19: A Call to Arms: This perspective reviewed the burden of bacterial and fungal sepsis from epidemiological and personal viewpoints, and highlighted the convergence of risk factors and clinical manifestations of severe COVID-19 and sepsis posing a daunting bedside challenge to accurate diagnosis. Article Highlights: The global burden of sepsis, from any cause, is estimated to be 50 million cases per year and is the cause of 1 in 5 deaths, including approximately 350,000 Americans and 680,000 Europeans each year; The U.S. spends an estimated $62 billion annually on sepsis treatment making it the most expensive in-hospital therapeutic cost; Sepsis is a severe health hazard requiring timely and appropriate therapy; survival decreases by 7.6% for each hour of delay in providing appropriate therapy; Critically-ill hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infections are at increased risk for secondary bacterial and fungal infections; By improving outcome of sepsis, the disparate outcomes from COVID-19 in historically disadvantaged minorities may also be improved; Indigenous Americans, Pacific Island Americans, and Black Americans have the highest mortality rates from COVID-19 infections; While administration of broad spectrum antimicrobial therapy in the absence of a microbial diagnosis is the standard of care in the empirical management of sepsis, the strategy is also associated with adverse events and selection of resistant pathogens; Rapid diagnostics must be deployed for use and be accessible for use across all segments of the health care system, to shorten the lag from time of exposure to appropriate and targeted therapy, reduce the likelihood of administration of unnecessary drugs, improve outcomes, lower health care costs, shorten hospital length of stay, and reduce the probability of developing antimicrobial resistance; Underscores the CDC call for the adoption and implementation of early and accurate microbial diagnosis to guide targeted antimicrobial therapy.