Microarray for Rapid Pathogen Identification in ventilated pneumonia
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The Taqman Microarray Card for Rapid Pathogen Identification in Ventilated Patients with Pneumonia
IRAS ID
228951
Contact name
Vilas Navapurkar
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge University Hospitals
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
Pneumonia, a serious infection of the lungs, is a common reason for Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission. It may also develop as a significant complication of being on a mechanical ventilator. Although the clinical diagnosis is generally straight-forward to make, determining which organism is causing the infection (pathogen) presents a much greater challenge. Existing detection of pathogens relies on growing the organism under specific conditions in a microbiology laboratory. This process is slow, typically taking 48 to 72 hours, and is influenced by factors such as presence of antibiotics and the ease with which specific organisms can be grown. Conventional microbiology may only be positive less than 40% of cases of pneumonia and this means that patients are often treated with ‘best guess’ antibiotics. These antibiotics are generally broad spectrum, and risk the development of antibiotic resistance. Equally, organisms which are less commonly seen may not be covered by the initial antibiotic selection and may only be started once this organism is grown after 48 to 72 hours leading to delays in appropriate treatment. The aim of this study is to evaluate the performance of a new form of diagnostic test, using detection of pathogens by gene analysis rather than relying on growth. We believe that this approach will be more rapid and more sensitive, and therefore likely to translate into more rapid and appropriate use of antibiotics.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/YH/0286
Date of REC Opinion
27 Sep 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion