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Sniffing Out Urinary Tract Infection—Diagnosis Based on Volatile Organic Compounds and Smell Profile

Authors :
Valentin-Mihai Dospinescu
Akira Tiele
James A. Covington
Source :
Biosensors, Vol 10, Iss 8, p 83 (2020)
Publication Year :
2020
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2020.

Abstract

Current available methods for the clinical diagnosis of urinary tract infection (UTI) rely on a urine dipstick test or culturing of pathogens. The dipstick test is rapid (available in 1–2 min), but has a low positive predictive value, while culturing is time-consuming and delays diagnosis (24–72 h between sample collection and pathogen identification). Due to this delay, broad-spectrum antibiotics are often prescribed immediately. The over-prescription of antibiotics should be limited, in order to prevent the development of antimicrobial resistance. As a result, there is a growing need for alternative diagnostic tools. This paper reviews applications of chemical-analysis instruments, such as gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS), ion mobility spectrometry (IMS), field asymmetric ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) and electronic noses (eNoses) used for the diagnosis of UTI. These methods analyse volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that emanate from the headspace of collected urine samples to identify the bacterial pathogen and even determine the causative agent’s resistance to different antibiotics. There is great potential for these technologies to gain wide-spread and routine use in clinical settings, since the analysis can be automated, and test results can be available within minutes after sample collection. This could significantly reduce the necessity to prescribe broad-spectrum antibiotics and allow the faster and more effective use of narrow-spectrum antibiotics.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20796374
Volume :
10
Issue :
8
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Biosensors
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.672127b990f84c949a75f42350f456cd
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/bios10080083