WHAT IS A URINARY TRACT INFECTION?
A urinary tract infection is what happens when bacteria (germs) get into the urinary tract (the bladder) and multiply. The result is redness, swelling and pain in the urinary tract (see diagram).
Most UTIs stay in the bladder, the pouch-shaped organ where urine is stored before it passes out of the body. If a UTI is not treated promptly, the bacteria can travel up to the kidneys and cause a more serious type of infection, called pyelonephritis (pronounced pie-low-nef-right- iss).
Pyelonephritis is an actual infection of the kidney, where urine is produced. This may result in fever and back pain.
WHY PCR TESTING?
Since the 1950s, urine culture has been the gold standard for diagnosing Urinary Tract Infections (UTI). Although molecular diagnostic approaches with their DNA amplification techniques have replaced outdated diagnosis methods for some infections, UTIs are still generally diagnosed as they have been for decades - by urine culture.
Standard culture presents significant limitations for detection of the full spectrum of urinary bacterial species due to slow growing bacteria that die in the presence of oxygen. Faster and more accurate diagnostic methods are available today but, there is still a missing component to begin defining a cure - Effective Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST).
Most PCR-based diagnostic efforts focus heavily on defining optimal uropathogen colony counts to diagnose UTIs. Meanwhile, very minimal diagnostic efforts are devoted to identifying a specific antibiotic treatment to eradicate the infection.
CULTURE VS PCR
67% of uropathogens are missed with standard urine culture and 50% in patients with severe urinary symptoms (1).
UTIs are some of the most common bacterial infections, affecting 150 million people each year worldwide (2).
Studies have shown that depending on the population, up to 80% of urine cultures are negative, underlining the need for more effective methods of diagnosis (3).
UTI - Urine Track infections
CULTURE Vs PCR
67% of uropathogens are missed with standard urine culture and 50% in patients with severe urinary symptoms (1).
UTIs are some of the most common bacterial infections, affecting 150 million people each year worldwide (2).
Studies have shown that depending on the population, up to 80% of urine cultures are negative, underlining the need for more effective methods of diagnosis (3).