Clinical utility of PCR compared to conventional culture and sensitivity testing for management of complicated urinary tract infections in adults: Part II.Evaluation of diagnostic concordance, discordant results, and antimicrobial selection efficacy.

Purpose: Complicated urinary tract infections (cUTIs) are difficult to manage due to their polymicrobial nature and resistance to standard therapies. In current clinical practice, the management of a cUTI often starts with broad-spectrum antimicrobials until culture and sensitivity (C&S) results are available, but these diagnostic delays further hinder treatment efficacy. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) offers a faster alternative.

Clinical utility of PCR compared to conventional culture and sensitivity testing for the management of complicated urinary tract infections in adults: Part I. Assessment of clinical outcomes, investigator satisfaction scores, and turnaround times.

Purpose: Managing complicated urinary tract infections (cUTIs) poses significant challenges, often resulting in the overprescription of empiric antibiotics. This approach exposes patients to multiple antimicrobials and raises the risk of inadequate treatment efficacy. The purpose of this study is to assess and compare the clinical utility of molecular testing (PCR) versus conventional culture and sensitivity (C&S) in managing cUTI, to identify optimal management strategies for cUTI patients.

Laboratory implementation of human papillomavirus testing.

Human papillomavirus testing is becoming an integral component of cervical cancer screening. Market forces will require most laboratories that perform Papanicolaou tests to develop a system for handling human papillomavirus testing also. Data and information are presented that may facilitate laboratories when addressing the following issues in the process of developing a human papillomavirus testing service: Which methodology is the best fit for the laboratory? Is it better to develop an in-house testing service or to send it out? How do I get started? What are the financial and economic issues, and how should they be managed?