Vidas Brahms PCT Assay receives 510(k) clearance from FDA as diagnostic for respiratory tract infections, such as community-acquired pneumonia- BioM�rieux

The FDA cleared the expanded use of the Vidas Brahms PCT Assay, from BioMérieux, to help health care providers determine if antibiotic treatment should be started or stopped in patients with lower respiratory tract infections, such as community-acquired pneumonia, and stopped in patients with sepsis. This is the first test to use procalcitonin (PCT), a protein associated with the body’s response to a bacterial infection, as a biomarker to help make antibiotic management decisions in patients with these conditions.

The Vidas Brahms test was cleared through the 510(k) pathway, a regulatory pathway for certain medical devices that are substantially equivalent to a legally marketed predicate device. The FDA first cleared this test to help clinicians better predict a patient’s risk of dying or becoming sicker due to sepsis.

Data supporting the test’s expanded use included clinical trial findings from published literature that compared PCT-guided therapy to standard therapy. Data from these prospective, randomized studies showed a significant decrease in antibiotic use for patients who had received PCT-guided therapy, without significantly affecting safety.