# Bacterial identification using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry in positive blood cultures: A pilot study

## TL;DR

This pilot study explores using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry with a lysis buffer to quickly identify bacteria in blood cultures.

## Contribution

The study introduces a user-friendly lysis buffer method for rapid bacterial identification from blood cultures.

## Key findings

- Using a lysis buffer (SDS) improved the identification of microorganisms like Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
- The SDS method allows species-level identification within hours of a positive blood culture signal.
- The lysis buffer approach is feasible for routine clinical use.

## Abstract

Early pathogen identification in the bloodstream has long been a key focus for microbiologists and clinicians, given its crucial role in patient management. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry has emerged as a valuable tool for the direct and rapid identification of organisms from positive blood cultures.

This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy, productivity, and feasibility of two methods for the rapid detection of bloodstream infections.

Two methods were employed in this study: One based on differential centrifugation and the other using a lysis buffer.

The addition of a lysis buffer, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), to the blood culture broth resulted in the identification of a greater number of microorganisms (Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumonia).

The application of SDS into culture broths is user-friendly and can be easily integrated into routine blood culture processing, allowing for species-level identification within hours of a positive BacT/ALERT signal.