T2 Biosystems announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared its T2Candida Panel for use in pediatric patients. This allows the company to immediately begin marketing and selling the test to over 200 children’s hospitals across the United States.
The T2Candida Panel is designed for the rapid detection of sepsis-causing Candida species directly from blood samples, providing results in 3-5 hours. This rapid detection is a significant improvement over traditional blood culture methods, which can take days to yield results.
Clinical Significance
The T2Candida Panel simultaneously detects five Candida species: Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Candida parapsilosis, Candida krusei, and Candida glabrata. According to the CDC, these species account for up to 95% of all Candida bloodstream infections in the U.S.
John Sperzel, Chairman and CEO of T2 Biosystems, stated, "This FDA clearance marks another important milestone in our commitment to expand the clinical utility of our sepsis test panels and allows our commercial team to immediately begin marketing and selling our test to over 200 children’s hospitals in the U.S." He added, "Studies show that the T2Candida Panel detects Candida species significantly faster, and with greater sensitivity, when compared to blood culture-based diagnostics, and we believe the new pediatric testing claim will allow clinicians to improve outcomes and reduce cost by achieving faster targeted antifungal treatment for their pediatric patients."
Impact on Pediatric Care
Invasive candidiasis poses a significant threat to hospitalized children, contributing to increased morbidity and mortality. A study in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology (2022) at the Bambino Gesù hospital in Rome, Italy, found that the T2Candida Panel provided species identification results 121.8 hours faster than blood culture in pediatric patients suspected of fungal bloodstream infections. The study also reported a higher detection rate with the T2Candida Panel, identifying six additional probable or possible fungal bloodstream infections missed by blood culture.
Furthermore, a prospective observational study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases (2022) evaluated four pre-blood culture tests for detecting invasive candidiasis in pediatric patients. The T2Candida Panel demonstrated the highest sensitivity and specificity among the tests and was the only one recommended for individual use in diagnosing invasive candidiasis in at-risk children and adolescents.
According to the Journal of Fungi, Candida species significantly contribute to morbidity and mortality in hospitalized children. Children with invasive candidiasis also present a substantial burden to the U.S. healthcare system, with an average increased hospital stay of 21 days and approximately $92,000 in excess hospital costs.
