Company insight
In the MIC of time to fight antimicrobial resistance
Antimicrobial resistance is an escalating global threat that can have disastrous consequences during the treatment of severe cases of infection. Accurate and rapid AST systems are required in the fight against resistance and to save lives. This is where Q-linea’s rapid AST system, ASTar, can help save lives.
B
loodstream infections (BSIs) are a major cause of global mortality, morbidity and healthcare costs.
Without swift and appropriate antibiotic treatments, BSIs can progress into sepsis, a life-threatening condition of organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection.
Sepsis affects nearly 50 million people around the world every year, where, tragically, 11 million people lose their lives to sepsis or sepsis-related complications. The landscape of sepsis is treacherous and challenging – marked by a pathophysiological cascade of events triggered by the immune system that creates a complex medical condition that must be treated in an apt and timely manner. The initial standard of care for BSI and septic patients is to treat with broad brushstrokes using a palette of antimicrobial agents that are oftentimes suboptimal or ineffective. While this initial empiric therapy is necessary prior to pathogen identification and tailoring of treatment, it has a significant impact on patient well-being and contributes to the rising emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Deaths directly related to AMR are projected to rise beyond ten million by 2050, predominantly due to antibiotic misuse. As resistance continues to increase on a global scale, the armoury of effective antimicrobials diminishes, meaning AMR demands attention now, while we can still act. It is a significant concern for the continued effectiveness of antibiotics used to treat severe infections.
Expedited AST using ASTar Rapid diagnostics and effective treatments are paramount for reducing mortality and saving lives in time-sensitive cases of severe infection, such as sepsis. Time to optimal treatment remains a major contributing factor when managing
Practical Patient Care /
www.practical-patient-care.com
Rapid diagnostics and effective treatments are paramount for saving lives in severe infections such as sepsis.
sepsis patients, where every hour of delay in appropriate antimicrobial treatment detrimentally impacts clinical outcomes. Prolonged inappropriate therapies also contribute significantly to the emergence of AMR in the broader community. Adjustment of empiric therapies into optimal antimicrobial treatments can take several days when using conventional antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) methods. With Q-linea’s rapid AST system, ASTar, minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and susceptibility categorisation (SIR) are delivered in around six hours, significantly reducing the time it takes to begin tailoring a patient’s antimicrobial therapy, sometimes up to 48 hours faster than conventional methods. The fully automated ASTar system shortens the clinical workflow and enables predictable turnaround times, where testing can begin directly from a positive blood culture sample independent of pathogen ID, and a comprehensive AST report is delivered within the same work shift. This benefits not only the patient’s clinical course but also alleviates many of the challenges burdening modern healthcare.
Faster treatment optimisation would be expected to reduce the length of ICU and hospital stay, as well as decrease the duration of antibiotic course, in turn supporting a significant decrease in healthcare costs.
This has been backed by several rapid AST performance studies, which Q-linea hopes to replicate in its ongoing lifetimes health economic and outcome research (HEOR) where it has implemented ASTar in multiple hospitals across Italy. The study aims to investigate the impact of introducing rapid AST into the diagnostic workflow and the guidance it can offer in regions of high AMR where effectual treatment revision is not always apparent.
Unlike other AST systems that extrapolate MIC results from a limited number of antimicrobial dilutions, ASTar utilises a broth microdilution-based technology with a controlled inoculum, thereby mitigating the risk of the inoculum effect. ASTar supports a broad antimicrobial panel across wide dilution ranges to generate accurate and true MIC results, helping physicians select the best antimicrobials and dosages in just a single
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