The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Barts Health NHS Trust have developed a DNA sequencing approach for quick diagnosis of bacterial infections.
In a press release on 6 March, the UK government said this is the first of its kind approach in the country which can be implemented onsite in hospitals for faster and more accurate diagnosis.
The technology is currently being piloted to investigate and prevent hospital outbreaks caused by antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs’, which is a growing global threat.
Improving precision treatment
Correctly diagnosing bacterial infections has been a challenge for ages. In most cases, cultures must be made and the result comes out in seven days or more to determine which agent is responsible for an infection and the drug to best deal with it.
With this new DNA method however, such diagnosis can be done onsite in hospitals and the result be ready within two days.
This simplifies the diagnosis process for doctors and helps patients recover faster and avoid complications.
Health Minister Ashley Dalton said:
“This collaboration between the MHRA and the NHS shows British innovation at its best. This groundbreaking use of the technology in hospitals will cut diagnosis times down from weeks to just two days enabling doctors to provide the right treatment faster and saving lives, while also fighting the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance.”
The new approach has been used to analyze over 2000 patient samples across seven London hospitals, including the Royal London, Whipps Cross, Newham, St Bartholomew’s, Homerton, Lewisham, and Greenwich.
Reaching more hospitals
According to the press release, the goal is to make rapid DNA sequencing a routine part of hospital diagnostics across the NHS, bringing faster, more accurate infection testing to patients nationwide.
The MHRA is working on standardizing the technology to allow for wider NHS adoption to bring rapid, accurate bacterial infection diagnostics to hospitals and prevent unnecessary broad-spectrum antibiotic use.
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