Infection prevention
The value of ‘fast diagnostics’
Fast diagnostics have the potential to significantly shorten time to appropriate therapy for bloodstream infections at high risk of sepsis, yet significant barriers to adoption persist, warns a new report by the Office of Health Economics. The report calls for the removal of structural and workflow barriers, so that fast results translate into faster therapy.
Every year, an estimated 104,000 adults in the UK are hospitalised with bloodstream infections at high risk of progressing to sepsis – a quickly deteriorating condition that claims more lives than lung cancer and is the second biggest killer after cardiovascular disease.1,2
modelling shows that deploying fast identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing early in the patient pathway could prevent around 10,000 sepsis cases and 5,200 deaths in the UK every year, generate 4,400 additional years of healthy life, and save the NHS approximately £300 million annually.1 A multi-country health economic analysis has
now been published assessing the impact of deploying fast identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (ID/AST) early in the care pathway for patients with bloodstream infections at high-risk of sepsis. Conducted by the Office of Health Economics
(OHE), one of the world’s leading independent health economics research organisations, in all G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States), this health economic analysis is the first to provide evidence that early use of fast diagnostics can reduce preventable deterioration into sepsis, improve patient outcomes, and generate substantial cost savings for healthcare systems consistently across all studied countries. “Every year in the UK, up to 48,000 people die
from sepsis,” explains Dr. Ron Daniels, Founder and Chief Medical Officer of the UK Sepsis Trust. “Early intervention is the most impactful
way of preventing avoidable deaths, yet we still rely on diagnostics which take days to confirm the causative organism or ‘bug’. Clinicians are left with little choice but to prescribe broad-spectrum antibiotics, risking treatment incompatibility and contributing to antimicrobial resistance. This new analysis is highly encouraging, as it shows that early use of fast diagnostics could help the NHS act earlier to prevent sepsis and save thousands of lives.”
Unmet needs in sepsis management Sepsis, a life-threatening reaction to an infection, is responsible for an estimated 21 million deaths
Early intervention is the most impactful way of preventing avoidable deaths, yet we still rely on diagnostics which take days to confirm the causative organism or ‘bug’. Dr. Ron Daniels, UK Sepsis Trust
globally each year.3 The initial hours of sepsis New independent
management are critical, and targeted antibiotic treatment is a key determinant of survival. Yet conventional diagnostic methods take two to three days to deliver results, forcing high- stakes treatment decisions without complete information.4
As a result, nearly 1 in 5 bloodstream
infection patients receive an inappropriate initial treatment, increasing the risk of deterioration and driving higher costs for the hospital and health system.5 Inappropriate antibiotic use is fuelling
antimicrobial resistance (AMR), with drug- resistant infections in the UK rising by over 13% since 2019.6
This underscores a growing public
health threat, identified as a core government priority in the UK 5-year National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (2024-2029), which calls for urgent action to optimise antimicrobial use and strengthen prevention, including better diagnostics.7
be critical to achieving NHS England’s 10 Year Health Plan, where earlier diagnosis, prevention and expanded community care depend on rapid, reliable infection diagnostics to guide appropriate treatment at the right point in the patient pathway.8 The model-based health economic analysis
evaluates what would happen if fast ID/AST were systematically used early in the care pathway before clinical deterioration occurs. Built using real-world hospital data from France, the health economic evaluation incorporates epidemiology, care pathways, costs, progression to sepsis, mortality, and long-term consequences over a 13-month time frame. It was then validated and adapted for each G7 country using local data inputs including incidence, diagnostic testing patterns, and country-specific healthcare costs, together with clinical expert review to ensure alignment with national practices and standards of care. Across Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the findings are consistent.
June 2026 I
www.clinicalservicesjournal.com 31
Delivering on this ambition will also
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