Based on the results of the DigiSep trial, health insurance company BARMER signed a selective contract with University Hospital Essen and diagnostics company Noscendo GmbH. Starting August 1, 2025, BARMER policyholders suspected of having sepsis will have access to precision diagnostics in addition to standard testing. This new solution identifies pathogens in the blood within 24 hours. The goal is to provide patients with more targeted therapy, shorter treatment times, and improved outcomes at comparable costs. The selective contract is open to additional clinics and health insurance companies in Germany.
In Germany, up to 300,000 people develop sepsis every year; at least 85,000 die from or with what is known as “blood poisoning.” Even if patients survive, they often face life-altering consequences, such as long stays in intensive care or serious complications. Early and reliable identification of the pathogen is crucial for successful treatment. However, this is often not achieved with the classic blood culture, the current standard procedure. A new, digital method for pathogen identification is now able to significantly improve diagnostics and thus also therapy and treatment outcomes, as demonstrated by the recently presented trial “DigiSep – Optimization of sepsis therapy based on patient-specific digital precision diagnostics.”1
Based on the promising results, three partners in the DigiSep trial have now signed a selective contract: the University Hospital Essen as consortium leader of the DigiSep project, BARMER as one of the participating health insurance companies, and Noscendo GmbH, which contributed its DISQVER digital precision test. "BARMER's commitment to DigiSep and the selective contract demonstrates how innovative health insurance companies are advancing medical care for the benefit of patients. With the help of the selective contract, we can swiftly implement the study results into everyday practice and offer digital precision diagnostics to BARMER policyholders affected by sepsis," says Prof. Dr. Thorsten Brenner, head of the DigiSep research project and director of the Clinic for Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine at the University Hospital Essen. Additional health insurance companies can also join the contract, which is valid throughout Germany.
DigiSep study proves advantages of precision diagnostics
The selective contract is based on the results of the DigiSep trial, which involved nearly 400 patients and 24 renowned German clinics belonging to the German Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (GSAIC) Trials Group, top-class institutes, leading health insurance companies, and the diagnostics company Noscendo GmbH. They investigated how the use of digital diagnostics affects the mortality of sepsis patients, the duration of their antibiotic therapy, and their length of stay in the intensive care unit.
For the trial, half of the participants had their blood analyzed using digital precision diagnostics in addition to standard procedures. With the help of next-generation sequencing (NGS) and bioinformatics, more than 16,000 microbes can be identified within 24 hours, including 1,500 pathogens (bacteria, DNA viruses, fungi, and parasites). Within a few hours, the type and quantity of pathogens in the blood are clear, allowing for more tailored anti-infective therapy.
Compared to blood culture, the NGS method yielded a positive result four times more frequently (at the onset of sepsis) and ten times more frequently (three days after the onset of sepsis). Although no significant results were achieved in the DOOR/RADAR score, which summarizes intensive care unit length of stay, antibiotic use, mortality, and acute renal failure as complications, numerous study endpoints such as ventilation duration and shock duration were significantly improved. Accordingly, the costs of the more expensive NGS procedure were offset, for example, by a shorter ventilation time and shorter intensive care and hospital treatment, so that the total costs in the two study groups were comparable. In addition, the use of the new diagnostic procedure resulted in a significant improvement in health-related quality of life 90 days after the onset of sepsis.
1 Brenner T et al.: Beneficial effects of a clinical metagenomics intervention on clinical outcomes, healthcare economics, and quality of life in patients with
DigiSep nominated for MSD Health Award 2025
The DigiSep project is one of the ten finalists for the 2025 MSD Health Award. The award promotes projects that demonstrate an improvement in medical and/or economic outcomes. A jury of experts will decide on the top prizes and special awards. Voting for the audience award is open until October 6, 2025, at
https://www.msd.de/gesundheitspreis/voting/
Press contacts
Universitätsklinikum Essen
Burkhard Büscher
Burkhard.Buescher@uk-essen.de
Tel. +49 (0) 201-723-2115
BARMER
Athanasios Drougias
presse@barmer.de
Tel. +49 (0) 0800-333004 99-1421
Noscendo GmbH
Dr. Peter Haug
info@noscendo.com
Tel. +49 (0)2066-506 87 70