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Antimicrobial Resistance

Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP, Curator

LPBI

NIH Funds Nine Anti-Microbial Resistance Diagnostic Projects to Deal with ‘Super Bugs’ and Give Clinical Laboratories New Diagnostic Tools to Improve Patient Care

Lab-on-a-chip technology could reduce the time needed to identify infection-causing bacteria and for physicians to prescribe correct antibiotics 

Pathology groups and medical laboratories may see their role in the patient-care process grow if researchers succeed in developing culture-independent diagnostic tools that quickly identify bacterial infections as well as pinpoint the antibiotics needed to treat them.

In the battle against antibiotic-resistant infections (AKA “super bugs”) the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is funding nine research projects aimed at thwarting the growing problem of life-threatening infections that no longer are controlled or killed by today’s arsenal of drugs.

Common Practices in Hospitals Leading to Super Bugs

Currently, when infections are suspected in hospitals or other settings where illness can quickly spread, samples are sent to a central medical laboratory where it may take up to three days to determine what germ is causing the infection. Because of that delay, physicians often prescribe broad-spectrum antibiotics based on a patient’s symptoms rather than lab test results, a practice that can lead to the growth of antibiotic-resistant microbes.

“Antimicrobial resistance is a serious global health threat that is undermining our ability to effectively detect, treat, and prevent infections,” said National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Anthony S. Fauci, MD, in a news release. “One way we can combat drug resistance is by developing enhanced diagnostic tests that rapidly identify the bacteria causing an infection and their susceptibility to various antimicrobials. This will help physicians determine the most effective treatments for infected individuals and thereby reduce the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics that can contribute to the drug resistance problem.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that preventing infections and improving antibiotic prescribing could save 37,000 lives from drug-resistant infections over five years.

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As Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Anthony S. Fauci, MD, (above) leads research to prevent, diagnose, and treat infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, influenza, tuberculosis, malaria, and illness from potential agents of bioterrorism. He serves as one of the key advisors to the White House and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on global AIDS issues. (Photo and caption copyright: NIH Medline Plus.)