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Rapid detection of urinary tract infections caused by Proteus spp. using PNA-FISH

C Almeida1, N F Azevedo, J C Bento

  • 1IBB-Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Centre of Biological Engineering, Universidade do Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal. carinaalmeida@deb.uminho.pt

European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases : Official Publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology
|January 5, 2013
PubMed

Insights

A new peptide nucleic acid fluorescence in situ hybridization (PNA-FISH) method rapidly detects Proteus spp. in urine. This reliable PNA-FISH technique offers a faster alternative to traditional urine culture methods for diagnosing urinary tract infections.

Area of Science:

  • Clinical microbiology
  • Diagnostic molecular biology

Background:

  • Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common, often caused by Proteus species.
  • Current diagnostic methods rely on urine culture, which can be time-consuming.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and evaluate a rapid fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) method for detecting Proteus species in urine samples.
  • To assess the performance of a novel peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probe for this application.

Main Methods:

  • Development of a PNA-FISH assay utilizing a specific PNA probe for Proteus spp.
  • Testing the PNA-FISH assay on 137 clinical urine samples from patients with suspected UTIs.
  • Comparison of PNA-FISH results with those obtained from CHROMagar Orientation medium.

Main Results:

  • The PNA-FISH method demonstrated high specificity (98%) and sensitivity (100%) for detecting Proteus spp.
  • The assay achieved these results compared to the established CHROMagar Orientation medium.
  • Diagnosis time was significantly reduced to approximately 2 hours.

Conclusions:

  • PNA-FISH is a highly sensitive and specific method for the rapid detection of Proteus species in urine.
  • This technique offers a reliable and faster alternative to conventional urine culture methods for UTI diagnosis.

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