ADD-ON Universal Antibiotic Resistance Genes (GI-MAP and GI Pathogens Profile only)

Overview:

55 Genetic Elements Associated With Resistance to 10 Different Classes of Antibiotics

A new and improved antibiotic resistance genes panel has been released by Diagnostic Solutions Laboratory. Useful for patients who have been hospitalized, treated with antibiotics, or who have stubborn, chronic infections, the Universal Antibiotic Resistance Genes panel will tell clinicians if antibiotic resistance is a potential stumbling block for their patients. The Universal Antibiotic Resistance Genes panel can be ordered as an add-on to the GI-MAP or to the GI-Pathogens panel. It detects the presence of 55 genetic elements associated with resistance to 10 different classes of antibiotics.

Multidrug resistance is a significant public health threat worldwide.1 The Centers for Disease Control estimate 35,000 deaths in the United States due to antibiotic-resistant infections each year and the treatment of antibiotic-resistant microbes totals more than $4.6 billion in annual health costs. In response, antimicrobial stewardship programs are being promoted to combat drug resistance, treat infections more efficiently, protect patients from harm of unnecessary antibiotics, and reduce healthcare costs.4 Integrative and functional medicine clinicians can support antibiotic stewardship by incorporating the findings from the Universal Antibiotic Resistance Genes into their patient protocols.5

Both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria can evade antibiotic therapy by carrying specialized mobile genetic elements on plasmids (circular DNA molecules in the cytoplasm). These mobile elements can be transmitted through horizontal genetic exchange between bacterial cells, and even between different species. Horizontal genetic exchange can be thought of as bacteria swapping useful genes to promote their survival. This genetic exchange of mobile elements plays a central role in the acquisition and spread of antibiotic resistance in bacterial populations.1

The Universal Antibiotic Resistance Genes panel detects genes associated with resistance to the most commonly prescribed antibiotics for gastrointestinal infections. The mobile genetic elements in the panel can be found in a variety of different microbes. The presence of these genes in a bacterial population has been associated with moderate to high levels of antibiotic resistance in human gastrointestinal infections.

Universal Antibiotic Resistance Genes Panel – Identifies Microbial Resistance to These Classes of Antibiotics

• β-lactams
• Fluoroquinolones
• Vancomycin
• Macrolides
• Ciprofloxacin
• 5-Nitroimidazoles (non-Helicobacter pylori)
• Trimethoprim
• Sulfonamides
• Methicillin
• Chloramphenicol