novel test and method for antibiotic resistance detection

[marekc]

I observed that in case of treatment patient with betalactam antibiotics (e.g. penicillin, amoxicillin etc.) infection caused by bacteria resistant to them, the given antibiotic usually is not present in patient’s urine (usually 70-80% of the given antibiotic dose is eliminated by kidneys).

 

I think that it may be caused by the mechanism of resistance to betalactam antibiotic, which rely on the production of betalactamases, which destroys given antibiotic.

 

I think that it would be possible to develop fast and cheap test (method?) for evaluation of antibiotic resistance based on the detection of the given antibiotic in urine. Antibiotics might be detected e.g. by immunoenzymatic strip tests. In case of bacterial resistance antibiotic is not detected/not present in urine.

 

What is your opinion about such an idea? Is there any chance to develop it? Or there is only a wishful thinking?

 

I am sorry for some of the inappropriate phrases, I am a family doctor not a microbiologist.

Thank you in advance for your help.

[Mr Skeptic]

I observed that in case of treatment patient with betalactam antibiotics (e.g. penicillin, amoxicillin etc.) infection caused by bacteria resistant to them, the given antibiotic usually is not present in patient’s urine (usually 70-80% of the given antibiotic dose is eliminated by kidneys).

 

Interesting idea. If what you said above is true, then this would be useful IMO.

[CharonY]

My main question would be whether it is really true. I would have expected that the majority of the AB would not reach the bacteria at all and gets secreted directly.

But for fast detection of ABs I would probably try to develop an ELISA system. These are fairly easy to use and can be done even small labs.

[marekc]

Dear CharonY, thank you for that idea with developing ELISA.

[GDG]

I observed that in case of treatment patient with betalactam antibiotics (e.g. penicillin, amoxicillin etc.) infection caused by bacteria resistant to them, the given antibiotic usually is not present in patient’s urine (usually 70-80% of the given antibiotic dose is eliminated by kidneys).

 

I think that it may be caused by the mechanism of resistance to betalactam antibiotic, which rely on the production of betalactamases, which destroys given antibiotic.

 

I think that it would be possible to develop fast and cheap test (method?) for evaluation of antibiotic resistance based on the detection of the given antibiotic in urine. Antibiotics might be detected e.g. by immunoenzymatic strip tests. In case of bacterial resistance antibiotic is not detected/not present in urine.

 

What is your opinion about such an idea? Is there any chance to develop it? Or there is only a wishful thinking?

 

I am sorry for some of the inappropriate phrases, I am a family doctor not a microbiologist.

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

Not a bad idea As a medical diagnostic, it would require FDA approval before it could be marketed. FDA approval probably requires some form of trial (although I assume this would be much less expensive than having a new drug approved). Trials would probably require that you conduct a study (approved in advance with the FDA) using controls and a statistically significant number of patients, so that you can determine how accurate the method is. E.g., what concentration of beta-lactam in the urine constitutes a positive finding? What dose (or how many doses) of beta-lactam should the patient have first? How long should you wait before collecting the urine sample? Are all of these considerations the same for each beta-lactam antibiotic, or do some of them differ?

 

If you plan to develop the test, you would probably want to have a patent. Otherwise, any generic manufacturer can just reference your data and put out a competing test (using their existing marketing ability). Since you have already publicly disclosed the idea (here), you would want to find a patent attorney immediately to determine what rights you may still have. Usually, premature public disclosure eliminates your rights to seek a patent: in the U.S., there is a grace period, but you would want your application on file as soon as possible to make sure you don't go past the deadline. Your patent attorney can also run a patent search to see if anyone else has already patented your idea. You can do a patent search yourself, online, at www.uspto.gov, but it would be a bit tricky to do a complete search on this kind of method.

 

Once you have a patent application pending, you can approach (or ask your patent attorney to approach) the several diagnostic assay manufacturers regarding licensing.

 

Best of luck,

 

Grant