
Study Demonstrates Pathnostics Guidance UTI Test Lowers Antibiotic Use and Hospitalizations in Complex UTI Cases
Pathnostics, a laboratory test provider, has released data from a recent clinical study, published in the international peer-reviewed journal Diagnostics, demonstrating the impact of Pathnostics’ proprietary Guidance® UTI test on antibiotic stewardship and patient outcomes. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) is a major cause of follow on complications in the U.S., especially for elderly and immunocompromised patients. In 2018, of approximately 35 million hospital admissions, 480,000 had UTI as the primary diagnosis code. Additionally, a study published in April 2023 in the Journal of Urology that followed patients between 2012-2019 found a mean cost per UTI of $7,766 per hospital admission and an average length of stay of four days.
The study, titled “Improving Patient Outcomes While Reducing Empirical Treatment with Multiplex-Polymerase-Chain-Reaction/Pooled-Antibiotic-Susceptibility-Testing Assay for Complicated and Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections,” involved more than 570 patients who sought treatment for challenging UTIs. These patients were diagnosed using the Guidance UTI test, which utilizes patented technology to provide the highest level of diagnostic specificity. The study found that there was a substantial reduction of empirical therapy usage. Patients who were diagnosed using the Guidance UTI test experienced a reduction of over 50% in empirical therapy administration. Empirical therapy is the practice of prescribing antibiotics before laboratory results are available. This reduction is particularly important as it mitigates the risk of antibiotic resistance and potential complications for patients. In addition to the reduction in empirical therapy, the study revealed that patients diagnosed using the Guidance UTI test experienced a 40% reduction in hospitalizations, urgent care visits, and emergency room admissions. These findings underscore the direct impact of the Guidance UTI test on patient outcomes, leading to improved overall care and quality of life for individuals suffering from complicated and recurrent UTIs.
This data adds on to a publication in the Journal of Urology in 2022 that showed the test led to a 13% reduction in outpatient admissions to the emergency room, a 67% lower inpatient admission rate, and $463 in savings per patient tested.
Guidance® UTI is designed for patients with recurrent or persistent UTIs, have high risk factors such as being elderly or immunocompromised, or patients with known antibiotic allergies. Guidance® UTI is used to identify 30 commonly tested uropathogens, including fastidious bacteria and yeasts, that are difficult to detect by culture utilizing PCR technology. It also tests for antibiotic resistance genes associated with the various pathogens. The test has higher sensitivity than culture based methods for detecting organisms, and results are available within 24 hours of sample receipt by the laboratory.
David Pauluzzi, CEO of Pathnostics, emphasized the importance of the study’s findings, stating, “The remarkable improvements in patient care and outcomes revealed in this study are direct and compelling evidence of Guidance UTI’s clinical value and potential to revolutionize the management of complex UTIs. These results mark another milestone in our mission to make Guidance UTI the new standard of care for diagnosing and treating patients suffering from complicated, recurrent, or high-risk UTIs.”