St. Louis, Missouri - An innovative laser technology developed for rapid in-vitro diagnostics has been shown to dramatically reduce the time required to detect life-threatening antibiotic-resistant “superbug” bacterial infections and guide effective antibiotic therapy, according to research presented this week at “Microbe 2016", the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) in Boston.
A research team of physicians and scientists at the University Hospital of Muenster (University of Muenster, Muenster, GERMANY) have used the new diagnostic system to dramatically reduce the time needed to detect a resistant infection and identify an effective antibiotic therapy to about three hours. This compares to about 24-30 hours that is typical for this process, enabling faster and more effective treatment, and potentially saving lives.
The University of Muenster research team, led by Dr. Evgeny A. Idelevich, MD, used a BacterioScan® Laser Microbial Growth Monitor to test twenty strains of susceptible and Carbapenem-Resistant Enterococci (CRE) gram-negative bacteria, delivering 100% Sensitivity and 100% Specificity for both resistant and susceptible organisms within a maximum of 200 minutes.
The BacterioScan® Laser Microbial Growth Monitor (LMGM) developed by St. Louis-based BacterioScan Inc., uses precision laser scattering to determine the number of bacteria in a low-density sample, and can provide a rapid measurement of bacterial growth and division. The Muenster researchers exposed the bacteria to various amounts of antibiotic to detect resistance and to determine which concentrations would inhibit bacteria growth, a procedure called Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST).
“Although there are methods available to quickly identify bacteria, there are no adequate methods to rapidly detect resistance or determine which antibiotics will be effective in treating a particular patient infection.” said Dana Marshall, BacterioScan President and CEO. The Muenster AST research focused on isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella Pneumoniae, which are common in hospital-acquired pneumonia, bloodstream infections, and urinary tract infection (UTI). The CDC has deemed drug resistance in these organisms as a serious threat to future healthcare. Mr. Marshall added: “Some of these bacteria, are resistant to nearly all antibiotics, such that healthcare officials have dubbed them “nightmare bacteria”.
Infections like CRE and Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci (VRE) are hard to treat, and often untreatable having have developed resistance to all or nearly all the antibiotics available today, including “last-resort” drugs such as Colistin, one of the carbapenem drugs. In addition to spreading among people, these bacteria can pass along their antibiotic resistance genes to other kinds of bacterial, making those potentially untreatable as well. Although some mechanisms of resistance can be detected using genetic methods, the complexities of expression limit the clinical utility of genetics for AST. BacterioScan’s AST system quickly guides effective antibiotic therapy, reducing patient exposure to inappropriate drugs that can accelerate the development of resistance in bacteria.
Mr. Marshall added: “With growing resistance, and a dearth of new antibiotics on the horizon, rapid clinical diagnostics will be essential for the safe and effective treatment of bacterial infection. We believe that by reducing diagnostic time to result with our fast, affordable, and accessible AST platforms, BacterioScan can and will play an important role in future patient care, and in preserving the remaining effective antimicrobial drugs.”
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* The American Society of Microbiology (ASM) has accepted the research conducted at University Hospital Münster, Germany for presentation at ASM Microbe 2016 on June 20, 2016 in Boston. This research abstract has been included into the Microbe 2016 Press Room and a preview is available on the ASM website.
Antimicrobial Resistance Facts
1. The CDC estimates that each year approximately 2 million Americans acquire serious infections that are resistant to one or more front line antibiotics, and at least 23,000 Americans die annually as a direct result of these drug-resistant infections. 7
2. A conservative estimate from a British project called the “Review on Antimicrobial Resistance” states that, if left unchecked, antibiotic resistance will cause 10 million human deaths per year-more than the number of people who currently die from cancer and diabetes combined.2
3. In 2009, spending on antimicrobial drugs was $10.7 billion in the United States, including $6.5 billion among patients who visit physician offices and $3.5 billion for hospitalized patients.1
4. Global consumption of antibiotics in human medicine rose by nearly 40% between 2000 and 2010.2
5. The Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics has estimated, based on a study conducted at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, that antibiotic-resistant bacteria result in $16.6 billion to $26 billion per year in extra costs to the U.S. health care system. “In one cost analysis, 140 patients treated for septicemia, an infection of the blood, with a broad spectrum antibiotic, cost the health care system $66 per day. An adjusted therapy based on diagnostic susceptibility testing - an aid for selecting the most appropriate antibiotic therapy for an individual patient - cost $3 per day and resulted in 1 less hospital stay per patient, saving the health care system a total of $386,820.11".3
6. The CDC estimates that up to 50% of all the antibiotics prescribed for patients in the U.S are not needed or are not optimally prescribed. Reasons for antibiotic overuse in health care include lack of rapid, accurate and well-evaluated point of care diagnostic tests.4,5,6,8
7. Some strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacteria common in respiratory infection, have been found to be resistant to all or nearly all antibiotics including aminoglycosides, cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones, and carbapenems.7
8. Approximately 8% of all healthcare-associated infections reported to CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network are caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 13% of severe healthcare-associated infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa are multi-drug resistant, meaning several classes of antibiotics no longer cure these infections.7
References:
1. Suda, K.J., Hicks, L.A., Roberts, R.M., Hunkler, R.J., Danziger, L.H. (2013). A national evaluation of antibiotic expenditures by healthcare setting in the United States. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 68(3), 715-18.
2. O’Neill, J.. (2014). Review on Antimicrobial Resistance. Antimicrobial Resistance: Tackling a Crisis for the Health and Wealth of Nations. Retrieved from http://amr-review.org/sites/default/files/AMR%20Review%20Paper%20-%20Tackling%20a%20crisis%20for%20the%20health%20and%20wealth%20of%20nations_1.pdf
3. Roberts, R. (2009). Hospital and societal costs of antimicrobial-resistant infections in a Chicago teaching hospital: implications for antibiotic stewardship. Clinical Infectious Disease. 49(8), 1175-84. doi: 10.1086/605630.
4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2011). Office-related antibiotic prescribing for persons aged =14 years --- United States, 1993-1994 to 2007-2008. MMWR Morbidity Mortality Weekly Report. 60(34), 1153-6.
5. Pichichero, M.E.. (2002). Dynamics of antibiotic prescribing for children. Journal of the American Medical Association. 287(23), 3133-5. 6. Shapiro, D.J., Hicks, L.A., Pavia, A.T., Hersh, A.L.. (2014). Antibiotic prescribing for adults in ambulatory care in the USA, 2007-09. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 69(1), 234-40.
7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2013). Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2013. pp. 11, 69. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/pdf/ar-threats-2013-508.pdf.
8. Executive Office of the President President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. (2013.) Report to the President on Combating Antibiotic Resistance. Retrieved from:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/PCAST/pcast_amr_jan2015.pdf
About BacterioScan, Inc.
BacterioScan is an in-vitro diagnostics (IVD) company that is changing the way infectious diseases are diagnosed and treated by providing rapid, reliable, and accessible automated microbiology systems. BacterioScan products guide the successful use of antibiotics with rapid detection and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) direct from patient samples. BacterioScan’s first medical device product is a compact, simple, and low-cost device for rapid detection of bacteria indicative of a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) for use in clinical microbiology labs.
BacterioScan is a privately held corporation, with headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri. For more information about BacterioScan®, visit www.bacterioscan.com, contact BacterioScan at info@bacterioscan.com, or call 844-222-7226 (844-BAC-SCAN).
The BacterioScan 216Dx® Laser Microbial Growth Monitor is a compact bench top instrument for automated microbiology applications such as detection of Urinary Tract Infection (UTI). The instrument can analyze up to sixteen patient samples at a time using single-use disposable multicuvette cartridges.
Media Contact
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