CARB-X to fund development rapid diagnostic test for sepsis
CARB-X announced today that it is awarding up to $3 million to GenomeKey of Bristol, United Kingdom, to develop an innovative rapid diagnostic test for sepsis.
GenomeKey's diagnostic project uses technology that combines innovative methods to separate bacterial DNA from human DNA in whole blood with next-generation DNA sequencing and machine learning to interpret antimicrobial susceptibility. The aim is determine, within 4 hours, what bacteria are causing the infection in sepsis patients and which antibiotics would be most effective. Conventional laboratory tests take 24 to 73 hours to produce results.
Globally, an estimated 11 million people die each year from sepsis, which occurs when the immune system has an overwhelming reaction to an infection that has entered the bloodstream. Quick, appropriate treatment is considered vital.
GenomeKey could be eligible for up to $6.5 million in additional funding from CARB-X (the Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator) if the project achieves certain milestones.
"Prompt diagnosis and treatment provide the best chance for reducing death rates and improving recovery from sepsis," CARB-X Research and Development Chief Erin Duffy, PhD, said in a CARB-X press release. "GenomeKey's innovative technology aims to accelerate diagnosis and deliver vital antibacterial susceptibility information that could take the guesswork out of treatment decisions in the first critical hours of illness."
Apr 27 CARB-X press release
Study: Variation in clinic visits drives differences in antibiotic prescribing
Differences in antibiotic prescribing rates between high-prescribing areas of Massachusetts and low-prescribing areas were primarily due to variation in outpatient visits for respiratory conditions, rather than provider prescribing practices, researchers reported today in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
In the study, researchers at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health examined medical and pharmacy claims data from the Massachusetts All-Payer Claims Database from January 2011 through September 2015 to determine geographic variation in outpatient visit rates and antibiotic prescribing rates per visit for 20 medical conditions. They defined high-prescribing census tracts as those with a per capita prescribing rate above the state median rate per 1,000 people per month, and low-prescribing census tracts as those with a prescribing rate below the state median rate.
The mean antibiotic prescribing rate in high-prescribing census tracts was 71.7 per 1,000 people per month, compared with 54.9 prescriptions in the low-prescribing tracts. In an age-stratified analysis, geographic differences in outpatient visit rates accounted for 45.2% of the gap in antibiotic prescribing between high- and low-prescribing tracts, while differences in prescribing practices accounted for just 25.8% of the gap.
In particular, geographic differences in outpatient visit rates for sinus infection, sore throat, and ear infection with pus accounted for 30.3% of the gap, a greater contribution than visits for the other 17 conditions combined (14.9%). The contributions from sore throat and ear infection were mostly attributable to higher outpatient visit rates among children under 10 in high-prescribing tracts.
When the researchers looked at predictors of outpatient visits for respiratory illness, they found fewer outpatient visits in census tracts with a higher social deprivation index (i.e., lower socioeconomic status).
"Taken together, our findings suggest that the variation in antibiotic prescribing rates across Massachusetts census tracts is not primarily due to variation in prescribing practices, but rather to variation in outpatient visit rates that may be associated with reduced healthcare access in the most impoverished areas of Massachusetts and/or an inflated tendency to seek medical care for respiratory illness in wealthier areas," the study authors wrote.
They add that interventions to reduce antibiotic consumption should address the drivers of outpatient visits for respiratory illness.
Apr 27 J Infect Dis abstract