Bacterial infection (BI)-INDEX: an improved and simplified rapid flow cytometric bacterial infection marker

The aim of this study was to develop a rapid and simple flow cytometric bacterial infection marker. In this prospective comparative study, quantitative flow cytometric analysis of CD10, CD35, CD66b, CD282, and MHC Class I molecules on human neutrophils, monocytes, and B-lymphocytes from 141 hospitalized febrile patients with suspected infection and from 50 healthy controls was performed. We developed a flow cytometric marker of local and systemic bacterial infections, designated “bacterial infection (BI)-INDEX”, incorporating the quantitative analysis of CD10, CD35, MHCI, CD66b, and CD282 on neutrophils, monocytes, and B-lymphocytes, which displayed 90% sensitivity and 96% specificity in distinguishing between microbiologically confirmed bacterial (n = 31) and viral infections (n = 27) within a 1-h time-frame. We propose that our novel rapid BI-INDEX test will be useful in assisting physicians to ascertain whether antibiotic treatment is required, thus limiting unnecessary antimicrobial usage.