New method for faster determination of antibiotic resistance

New method for accelerated determination of antibiotic resistance

The increase in antibiotic resistance is placing health care in a growing challenge. If the problem is not brought under control soon, according to researchers threatens a horror scenario. According to an earlier study by the Berlin Charité, there could be around 10 million deaths from multidrug-resistant germs by 2050. Researchers have now developed a new method for accelerated determination of antibiotic resistance.

Which germs make the patient sick

Respiratory, urinary or wound infection, sepsis: The list of diseases typically caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria is long, and their course is often severe or even fatal. Therapeutic way are exactly tailored to the pathogenic pathogens antibiotics, but this is precisely the problem: Tests, which germ the patient makes ill and against which antibiotics this is still sensitive, often take a long time. A research team from the Institute of Medical Microbiology at the University of Münster has now developed a method that significantly speeds up the procedure.

Researchers at the University of Münster have developed a new method for the accelerated determination of antibiotic resistance. (Image: Zerbor / fotolia.com)

Determine resistance characteristics faster

The new method of microbiologists to project manager Privatdozent Evgeny A. Idelevich and Prof. Karsten Becker are based on the well-known MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, with which it is already possible to identify pathogens.

"But we also need new approaches to more quickly determine resistance characteristics. With previous methods, this usually takes more than a day, because the samples must first be grown, "said Becker in a statement.

With the help of the innovation from Münster, clinicians can more quickly select the optimal antibiotic therapy and swiftly initiate hospital hygiene measures in the case of multidrug-resistant pathogens to protect other patients.

In addition, the administration of narrow-acting antibiotics reduces the selection pressure towards resistant pathogens, as doctors often administer broad-spectrum antibiotics to treat patients as quickly as possible, which work against many bacterial strains. However, this continues to drive the development of multidrug-resistant bacteria.

Test pathogens on several antibiotics at the same time

"The MALDI-TOF method was also suitable for our research because it is extremely fast, highly specific and cost-effective," explains Idelevich.

The scientists have therefore developed on this basis, a universal rapid method for sensitivity analysis, with which they can test pathogens even on several antibiotics simultaneously.

Together with colleagues from the Bremen-based medical technology company Bruker Daltonik, they are currently refining the process and developing it to market readiness.

"We hope to have our method fit for the laboratories of the world in the next two to three years," says Becker.

This project is also of particular importance to him because the underlying method was also coined by Münster scientists in the 1980s:

"With their research, the colleagues laid the foundation for today's microbiological pathogen identification. Currently, thousands of laboratories worldwide use a "MALDI Biotyper". This creates ideal conditions for establishing our method without much effort. "(Ad)