This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Online tool predicts antibiotic resistance in TB
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
A novel tool could provide rapid genome analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and predict potential resistance to common tuberculosis treatments, according to recently published data.
“Sequencing already assists patient management for a number of conditions such as HIV, but now that it is possible to sequence M. tuberculosis from sputum from suspected multidrug-resistance patients, it means it has a role in the management of tuberculosis,” Taane G. Clark, DPhil, reader in genetic epidemiology and statistical genomics at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said in a press release. “We have developed a prototype to guide treatment of patients with drug-resistant disease, where personalized medicine and treatment offers improved rates of cure.”
Using a mutation library compiling 1,325 entries, researchers tested the effectiveness of their newly developed online TB Profiler tool by analyzing the raw sequence data from 792 strains of M. tuberculosis. Sensitivity and specificity of the test were compared with those of three commercial tests: the Xpert MTB/RIF (Cepheid), the line probe assay (LPA) MTBDRplus for multidrug-resistant TB (Hain Lifescience) and the LPA MTBDRsl (Hain Lifescience).
Prediction of drug resistance was validated for 11 of the 15 tested antibiotics. The online TB Profiler tool was found to be superior to the tested diagnostics, as well as some other database services, the investigators said.
“This is a welcome step forward in our battle against drug resistance,” Ruth McNerney, PhD, of the pathogen biology and diagnostics department at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said in the release. “Patients with drug-resistant disease have to endure many months of treatment with toxic drugs with no guarantee of success. Personalized treatment will increase their chances of survival while minimizing the horrible side effects.” - by Dave Muoio
Disclosure: Clark and others at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine report developing the online TB Profiler. The researchers report no other relevant financial disclosures.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts