Laboratory Automation in Microbiology: Impact on Turnaround Time of Microbiological Samples in COVID Time.

Background: Laboratory Automation (LA) is an innovative technology that is currently available for microbiology laboratories. LA can be a game changer by revolutionizing laboratory workflows through efficiency improvement and is also effective in the organization and standardization of procedures, enabling staff requalification. It can provide an important return on investment (time spent redefining the workflow as well as direct costs of instrumentation) in the medium to long term.

Methods: Here, we present our experience with the WASPLab system introduced in our lab during the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated the impact due to the system by comparing the TAT recorded on our samples before, during, and after LA introduction (from 2019 to 2021). We focused our attention on blood cultures (BCs) and biological fluid samples (BLs).

Results: TAT recorded over time showed a significant decrease: from 97 h to 53.5 h (Δ43.5 h) for BCs and from 73 h to 58 h (Δ20 h) for BLs. Despite the introduction of the WASPLab system, we have not been able to reduce the number of technical personnel units dedicated to the microbiology lab, but WASPLab has allowed us to direct some of the staff resources toward other laboratory activities, including those required by the pandemic.

Conclusions: LA can significantly enhance laboratory performance and, due to the significant reduction in reporting time, can have an effective impact on clinical choices and therefore on patient outcomes. Therefore, the initial costs of LA adoption must be considered worthwhile.