The burden of UTIs

The winner of Challenge Work’s £8 million Longitude Prize on AMR is poised to radically transform the diagnosis and treatment of urinary tract infections (UTIs). Sysmex Astrego’s PA-100 AST System reflects the power innovation can bring when research is focused on impact.

The burden of UTIs is significant not only for each individual patient, but for the health service and for the contribution the infection has on the growth of antimicrobial resistance.  UTIs are the most common bacterial infection treated by the NHS in England and the second most common reason why antibiotics are prescribed – at a cost of £47 million to the National Health Service. Around 50-60% of women will experience at least one UTI episode in their lifetime.

Uncomplicated UTIs are an infection of the bladder and nearly one in three women will have had at least one by the time they are 24. In more serious cases, UTIs are the second most common cause of sepsis, a life-threatening condition which can occur if bacteria from the infection enters the bloodstream. 

With such vast numbers of women experiencing UTIs, improvements in diagnosis and treatment could have lifesaving consequences, including reducing unplanned hospital admissions, which cost the NHS £386 million in 2017/18 alone.

It currently takes two to three days for UTI test results, inevitably impacting treatment and the decision on whether antibiotics should be prescribed.  Symptoms are not always caused by bacteria, and often a broad spectrum of antibiotics are offered that do not target individual infections. The impact of this is bacteria developing resistance to some commonly-used antibiotics, with up to half of infection-causing bacteria in UTIs resistant to at least one antibiotic – a growing and pressing issue in modern medicine. 

This is why the PA – 100 AST System is so transformational. Not only can the test identify the presence of a bacterial infection in just 15 minutes, it can also accurately identify the right antibiotic to treat it within 45 minutes. This offers a fundamental step change in the diagnosis and treatment of UTIs. Patients would be able to begin targeted treatment almost immediately and the precision of the test will enable the return of ‘retired’ first-line antibiotics.

The emergence of a point of care test for UTIs has the potential to protect the lives of millions in years to come and Challenge Works is delighted to have been a driver of this innovation through the Longitude Prize.