Aiding in the diagnosis of Bartonella infection when Bartonella DNA would be expected to be present in blood, especially endocarditis
Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
Cat Scratch Disease (CSD)
CSD (Cat Scratch Disease)
Bacillary angiomatosis
Bartonella henselae
B. henselae
Bartonella quintana
B. quintana
Endocarditis
Peliosis hepatitis
Trench fever
Whole Blood EDTA
BART / Bartonella Antibody Panel, IgG and IgM, Serum and/or Warthin-Starry tissue stain (PATHC / Pathology Consultation) should be considered if this test is negative and there remains a strong suspicion of disease caused by these organisms.
The high sensitivity of amplification by polymerase chain reaction requires the specimen to be processed in an environment in which contamination of the specimen by Bartonella species DNA is unlikely.
Container/Tube:
Preferred: Lavender top (EDTA)
Acceptable: Royal blue top (EDTA), pink top (EDTA), or sterile vial containing EDTA-derived aliquot
Specimen Volume: 1 mL
Collection Instructions: Send whole blood specimen in original tube (preferred).
If not ordering electronically, complete, print, and send a Microbiology Test Request (T244) with the specimen.
0.5 mL
All specimens will be evaluated at Mayo Clinic Laboratories for test suitability. |
Specimen Type | Temperature | Time | Special Container |
---|---|---|---|
Whole Blood EDTA | Refrigerated (preferred) | 7 days | |
Ambient | 7 days | ||
Frozen | 7 days |
Aiding in the diagnosis of Bartonella infection when Bartonella DNA would be expected to be present in blood, especially endocarditis
Bartonella henselae and Bartonella quintana are small, pleomorphic, gram-negative bacilli that are difficult to isolate by culture due to their fastidious growth requirements. B henselae has been associated with cat scratch disease, bacillary angiomatosis, peliosis hepatitis, and endocarditis. B quintana has been associated with trench fever, bacillary angiomatosis, and endocarditis.
The diagnosis of Bartonella infection has traditionally been made by Warthin-Starry staining of infected tissue and serology. However, these methods may be nonspecific or falsely negative, especially in the early stages of disease.
Evaluation of infected tissue or blood using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing has been shown to be an effective tool for diagnosing Bartonella infection. Mayo Clinic Laboratories has developed a real-time PCR test that permits rapid identification of Bartonella species. The assay targets a unique sequence of the citrate synthase (gltA) gene present in Bartonella species.
Not applicable
A positive result indicates the presence of Bartonella species DNA.
A negative result indicates the absence of detectable Bartonella DNA but does not negate the presence of the organism and may occur due to inhibition of the polymerase chain reaction, sequence variability underlying primers or probes, or the presence of Bartonella DNA in quantities less than the limit of detection of the assay.
This test does not differentiate between Bartonella henselae and Bartonella quintana.
Test results should be used as an aid in diagnosis. The single assay should not be used as the only criteria to form a clinical conclusion, but results should be correlated with patient symptoms and clinical presentation. A negative result does not negate the presence of the organism or active disease.
1. Karem KL, Paddock CD, Regnery RL: Bartonella henselae, B quintana, and B bacilliformis: historical pathogens of emerging significance. Microbes Infect. 2000 Aug;2(10):1193-1205
2. Agan BK, Dolan MJ: Laboratory diagnosis of Bartonella infections. Clin Lab Med. 2002 Dec;22(4):937-962
3. Maguina C, Gotuzzo E: Bartonellosis. New and old. Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2000 Mar;14(1):1-22
4. Vikram HR, Bacani AK, DeValeria PA, Cunningham SA, Cockerill FR, 3rd: Bivalvular Bartonella henselae prosthetic valve endocarditis. J Clin Microbiol. 2007 Dec;45(12):4081-4084
5. Lin EY, Tsigrelis C, Baddour LM, et al: Candidatus Bartonella mayotimonensis and endocarditis. Emerg Infect Dis. 2010 Mar;16(3):500-503
6. Dumler JS, Carroll KC, Patel R: Bartonella. In: Carroll K, Pfaller M, eds. Manual of Clinical Microbiology. 12th ed. ASM Press; 2019:893-904
Bacterial nucleic acid is extracted from the specimen using the automated MagNA Pure instrument. The purified DNA is placed on the LightCycler instrument, which amplifies and monitors by fluorescence the development of target nucleic sequences after each polymerase chain reaction cycle. A specific target sequence from Bartonella species is amplified and the resulting segment is detected using specific hybridization probes. Detection of the bartonella target is performed through melting curve analysis using the LightCycler software.(Cockerill FR, Uhl JR: Applications and challenges of real-time PCR for the clinical microbiology laboratory. In: Reischl U, Wittwer C, Cockerill F. Rapid Cycle Real-Time PCR Methods and Applications. Springer-Verlag; 2002:3-27; Dumler JS, Carroll KC, Patel R: Bartonella. In: Carroll K, Pfaller M, eds. Manual of Clinical Microbiology. 12th ed. ASM Press; 2019:893-904)
Monday through Friday
This test was developed, and its performance characteristics determined by Mayo Clinic in a manner consistent with CLIA requirements. This test has not been cleared or approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
87801
Test Id | Test Order Name | Order LOINC Value |
---|---|---|
BARTB | Bartonella PCR, B | 16275-0 |
Result Id | Test Result Name |
Result LOINC Value
Applies only to results expressed in units of measure originally reported by the performing laboratory. These values do not apply to results that are converted to other units of measure.
|
---|---|---|
SRC98 | Specimen Source | 31208-2 |
56056 | Bartonella PCR | 16275-0 |
Change Type | Effective Date |
---|---|
Test Status - Test Resumed | 2022-01-05 |
Test Status - Test Down | 2021-11-11 |