Evaluation of antimicrobial susceptibility testing methods for complex isolates from people with and without cystic fibrosis.

The complex (BCC) is a group of Gram-negative bacteria that cause opportunistic infections, most notably in people with cystic fibrosis (CF), and have been associated with outbreaks caused by contaminated medical products. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) is often used to guide treatment for BCC infections, perhaps most importantly in people with CF who are being considered for lung transplant. However, recent studies have highlighted problems with AST methods.

Examining the effect of direct-from-blood bacterial testing on antibiotic administration and clinical outcomes: a protocol and statistical analysis plan for a pragmatic randomised trial.

Introduction: Patients with suspected bacterial infection frequently receive empiric, broad-spectrum antibiotics prior to pathogen identification due to the time required for bacteria to grow in culture. Direct-from-blood diagnostics identifying the presence or absence of bacteria and/or resistance genes from whole blood samples within hours of collection could enable earlier antibiotic optimisation for patients suspected to have bacterial infections. However, few randomised trials have evaluated the effect of using direct-from-blood bacterial testing on antibiotic administration and clinical outcomes.

Evaluation of piperacillin-tazobactam disks using contemporary Enterobacterales isolates suggests the need for disk potency optimization.

Unlabelled: Piperacillin-tazobactam (TZP) is a commonly used broad-spectrum agent. OXA-1 β-lactamases drive global Enterobacterales TZP resistance and raise MICs to the clinical breakpoints (8/4-16/4 µg/mL), making susceptibility testing challenging. Two TZP disks are used globally.

Novel technologies for the diagnosis of urinary tract infections.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) impose a substantial burden on patient quality of life and urine testing accounts for the majority of workload in many clinical microbiology laboratories. Traditional UTI diagnosis relies on symptoms, urinalysis, and culture which are interpreted based on historical guidelines. This approach, while foundational, presents limitations, particularly in complex cases.