Infectious Disease
Precision Microbial Detection:
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria pose a pressing public health threat, demanding advanced diagnostics. Molecular diagnostics, utilizing PCR and next generation sequencing techniques, offer superior sensitivity and specificity for detecting pathogens, including those that are difficult to culture, polymicrobial infections, and antibiotic resistance markers, with shorter turnaround times.
Limitations of Traditional Culture Based Microbial Detection:
Culture-based methods are inherently biased towards detecting specific pathogens that may not align with clinical symptoms. They often fail to detect slow-growing organisms, such as fastidious and non-aerobic bacteria, as well as most gram-positive germs. Moreover, the time-consuming process, which can exceed 72 hours, limits reporting to no more than two organisms, with three or more often indicating contamination.
Enhancing Antibiotic Stewardship through Advanced Molecular Diagnostics:
Due to prolonged turnaround times and limited sensitivity associated with culture-based methods, clinicians often resort to empirical treatment, leading to compromised antibiotic stewardship and rising rates of antibiotic resistance. Molecular diagnostics offer superior accuracy, precision, and shorter turnaround times, enabling comprehensive, effective, and timely management of complex infectious diseases.
References
-
Spear BB et al. (2011) Clinical Trends in Molecular Medicine. 7 (5): 201-204