LowLoad-qPCR as a novel clinical strategy for detecting low-load bacteremia.

The primary obstacle in detecting bloodstream infections is their often extremely low bacterial concentration. To accurately detect such infections, we developed a quantitative PCR assay, named LowLoad-qPCR, based on the combination of increased input DNA by random priming amplification method and the use of multiple probes sharing a single fluorophore. Here, we detail the key improvements over conventional qPCR and evaluate its performance using blood samples.