The iCAM Microarray PCR in Ocular Infections
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The iCAM Microarray PCR for Rapid Pathogen Detection in Ocular Infections
IRAS ID
242224
Contact name
Madhavan Rajan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 1 months, 0 days
Research summary
Ocular infections are a common cause of loss of vision. Examples include severe corneal infections and intraocular infections that lead to corneal and total blindness respectively. Early diagnosis and prompt management is key to preservation of vision and presumptive broad spectrum antibiotics are initially used to control such infections. Definitive microbial detection often takes three days and treatment altered accordingly to match antibiotic sensitivity to isolated infection. This delay in identifying the offending organism often compromise visual outcomes and are due to the time taken for conventional culture techniques employed in the labs. However, innovation in molecular diagnostics such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques have provided rapid pathogen detection which in turn could assist in a. Evidence based selection of antibiotics and b. the most appropriate anti-microbial (viral, fungi or Acanthmoeba) for the isolated pathogen causing infection. Currently, PCR diagnostics for common ocular infections ie bacterial, viral and fungi are not available in a single centre or by a single testing platform rather based in reference laboratories in 2-3 centres in the UK. In order to address this limitation, our research proposal had identified a list of all common pathogens implicated in ocular infections and devised a PCR based diagnostic card (iCam Microarray) that could provide rapid confirmatory results for all suspected infections. Conventional culture methods provide low culture positivity less than 50% as opposed to PCR sensitivity of 95% in ocular infections. Thus, our proposal aims to create a customised rapid diagnostic method (iCam Micorarray) for eye infections that could provide immediate pathogen detection (within hours) to aid better management of sight threatening infections towards preservation of vision.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/NW/0238
Date of REC Opinion
27 Jul 2021
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion