Gastrointestinal Panel

From Guide to YKHC Medical Practices

Revision as of 17:26, 20 July 2021 by JenniferH (talk | contribs)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

The printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.
  1. This test can be done in addition to the Stool Culture workup. Please continue to order the Stool Culture as one the primary methods of diagnosis. (They use the same collection kit.)
  2. We still have our other stool tests available to be run when the GI panel is not run: Stat Campy and Fecal Lactoferrin.
  3. The new orderable name in CERNER is Gastrointestinal Panel.
  4. This test performs simultaneous qualitative detection and identification of nucleic acids from multiple bacteria, viruses, and parasites directly from stool samples in Enteric Transport Media obtained from individuals with signs and/or symptoms of gastrointestinal infection. It detects the organisms seen below:
    1. Bacteria:
      1. Campylobacter (jejunii, coli, upsaliensis)
      2. Clostridium difficile (toxin A/B)
      3. Plesiomonas shigelloides
      4. Salmonella
      5. Yersinia enterocolitica
      6. Vibrio (parahaemolyticus, vulnificus, cholerae)
      7. Enteroaggregarive E. coli (EAEC)
      8. Enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC)
      9. Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC)
      10. Shiga-like toxin-producing E. coli (STEC)
      11. E. coli 0157
      12. Shigella/Enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC)
    2. Viruses:
      1. Adenovirus F 40/41
      2. Astrovirus
      3. Norovirus GI/GII
      4. Rotavirus A
      5. Sapovirus
    3. Parasites:
      1. Cryptosporidium
      2. Cyclospora cayetanensis
      3. Entamoeba histolytica
      4. Giardia lamblia
  5. The results appear as: “Detected” or “Not Detected” for each organism listed above.
  6. Collection Kit: AlphaTec Enteric Transport Media (ETM)
    1. It is the same collection kit as for Stool Culture.
    2. Stool must be transferred to the ETM within 2 hours of collection.
    3. Be sure the stool is filled to the Fill-Line on the container. Overfilled or underfilled containers will be rejected.
  7. Limitations of the test:
    1. The performance of this test has not been established for patients without signs and symptoms of gastrointestinal illness.
    2. Virus, bacteria, and parasite nucleic acid may persist in vivo independently of organism viability. Additionally, some organisms may be carried asymptomatically. Detection of organism targets does not imply that the corresponding organisms are infectious or are the causative agents for clinical symptoms.
    3. Results from this test must be correlated with the clinical history, epidemiological data, and other data available to the clinician evaluating the patient. Due to high rates of asymptomatic carriage of Clostridium difficile, especially in very young children and hospitalized patients, the detection of toxigenic C. difficile should be interpreted within the context of guidelines developed by the testing facility or other experts.
    4. The performance of this test has not been established for monitoring treatment of infection with any of the panel organisms.
    5. This test only detects Campylobacter jejuni, C. coli and C. upsaliensis and does not differentiate between these three species of Campylobacter. Additional testing is required to differentiate between these species and to detect other Campylobacter species that may be present in stool specimens.
    6. A negative FilmArray GI Panel result does not exclude the possibility of gastrointestinal infection. Negative test results may occur from sequence variants in the region targeted by the assay, the presence of inhibitors, technical error, sample mix-up, or an infection caused by an organism not detected by the panel. Test results may also be affected by concurrent antimicrobial therapy or levels of organism in the sample that are below the limit of detection for the test. Negative results should not be used as the sole basis for diagnosis, treatment, or other management decisions.
    7. The performance of this test has not been evaluated for immunocompromised individuals.


If you have any specific questions about this new test, please feel free to contact the Microbiology Supervisor in the laboratory.


Laboratory Services