Smart antibiotic therapy
Antibiotic–resistant bacteria are a growing threat to human health. Infections that were previously easily cured stop responding to therapy, even if the dose of the drug increases.
An express test for antibiotic sensitivity after three hours gives information about which drug is best suited for the treatment of a particular infection. Such a speed of obtaining information can increase the survival rate of patients. In addition, the test develops the direction on which the world is betting – personalized medicine.
Researchers from the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technologies (Leibniz-Institute of Photonic Technologies), the Center for the Control and Treatment of Sepsis at the University Hospital Jena (University Hospital Jena) and Friedrich Schiller University (Friedrich Schiller University) have developed a fast and inexpensive way to diagnose the pathogen. In their work, they used optical analysis methods. The developed "laboratory on a chip" makes it possible to accurately identify a bacterial strain and determine its sensitivity spectrum in less than three hours.
The standard diagnostic methods currently used give a result no earlier than 72 hours. This is due to the insufficient number of bacteria in the sample – it takes time to "grow" them.
In the treatment of acute and severe infections, for example, sepsis, the question of time is decisive. Therefore, doctors are forced to prescribe broad-spectrum antibiotics "blindly", without waiting for the results of sowing for sensitivity, because in the absence of information there is nothing else left.
Unjustified prescription of strong broad-spectrum antibiotics leads to the formation of bacterial resistance to them. This has become a serious problem: there simply won't be a single effective antibacterial drug left in the arsenal of doctors.
The new rapid diagnostic method does not require a large number of bacteria in the sample. The electrodes on the surface of the chip create a field that keeps the bacteria in place. The introduction of antibiotics in various concentrations into the sample followed by Raman spectroscopy after just over two hours gives information about the most effective drug and the recommended dose.
Purposeful and responsible use of antibiotics based on the results of an express sensitivity test has advantages both for the patient and for the state: treatment becomes reasonable and economically profitable, since the right drug is immediately prescribed. In addition, this approach preserves broad-spectrum antibiotics in reserve, resistance to them is not formed.
Article by J. Kirchhoff et al. A Simple Ciprofloxacin Resistance Test and Determination of Minimal Inhibitory Concentration within 2 h Using Raman Spectroscopy is published in the journal Analytical Chemistry.
Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of Leibniz-Institute of Photonic Technology: Prevent antibiotic resistances from spreading: Rapid test helps administering the 'correct' drug.