We piloted 72-hour whole-genome sequencing on three MRSA bloodstream isolates this month and they were unrelated, redirecting us from presumed patient-to-patient transmission to a shared blood culture cart and workflow lapse. For those using rapid WGS in HAI investigations, how are you budgeting turnaround and integrating results into real-time infection prevention decisions?
We budget a small “rapid bucket” — two fixed run days and on‑call courier — then use a traffic‑light playbook so the SNP readout triggers prewritten actions immediately, with default 24–48h contact precautions while we wait. For MRSA we treat ≤15 SNPs as red, 16–30 yellow, >30 green, then pivot to a cart/workflow audit if it’s green. Are your “72-hour” runs ONT or short‑read, and who owns the cutoffs — @IP_team or lab?
Quick example: we put a QR sticker on every blood culture cart; staff scan at use so when the “72-hour” WGS comes back, we pull the cart’s movement log and trigger an immediate swap/deep clean if isolates are unrelated. It’s one extra scan but it caught a “shared blood culture cart” issue twice and shortened our response by a day. Would that kind of lightweight logging fit your workflow?
We built an HL7 trigger: when the lab posts ‘SNP ≤5’, it auto‑pages IPC and pauses bed transfers/equipment sharing on that unit until the noon huddle; otherwise it just files so people aren’t chasing ghosts. Budget‑wise, we keep a flat monthly allotment and only send cases with ≥48‑hour unit overlap or shared staff — does your lab give you a discrete SNP field or just a PDF?