Differentiation of Bacterial versus Viral Infection in Acute Respiratory Conditions using a Point of Care Assay to detect Human Neutrophil Lipocalin.
Key Points
Every 4 minutes worldwide someone dies from infection caused by bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and it is predicted by 2050 ten million could die (Ref 1: Health and Social Care Committee- AMR eleventh report for House of Commons published October 2018).
Published studies report that at least 50% of antibiotic prescriptions are unnecessary due to a viral source of infection (Ref 2: Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, Volume 73, Issue suppl_2, 1 February 2018).
Unnecessary use of antibiotics is the primary cause of the increased antibiotic resistance and adverse reaction to commonly prescribed drugs.
Diagnostic uncertainty in combination with patient pressure influences physicians to prescribe antibiotics in a large number of patients presenting with acute respiratory infections.
Here we report the measurement of HNL to distinguish between bacterial and viral cause of an acute infection with superior accuracy to accepted biomarkers such as CRP or procalcitonin (PCT).
The invention is IP-protected and was awarded the prestigious EU Horizon prize (€1MM) for being the most promising POC assay for delivering a “better use of antibiotics” in acute respiratory infections.
A PoC solution would cut costs for the healthcare systems and improve patient outcomes.
Introduction
Millions of antibiotic prescriptions are written annually in primary care settings around the world and it is estimated that more than 50% of these prescriptions are unnecessary due to a viral source of infection (Ref 2). Unnecessary antibiotic use has resulted in a global surge in both antibiotic resistance and adverse drug reactions (ADR’s)....
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