Developing molecular diagnostics for pneumonia in hospitals

Clinicians and scientists from UCLH, UCL and the University of East Anglia (UEA) have been awarded a £2.5 million grant by the National Institute for Health Research to develop and evaluate new molecular diagnostic tests. The tests aim to identify bacteria and their antibiotic sensitivities in under four hours. If successful, this will mean that patients get the right antibiotic sooner, and that doctors can better manage their stock of antibiotics, which is threatened by the accumulation of resistant bacteria. The award to the team, led by Dr Vanya Gant and Dr Vicky Enne (UCL Infection & Immunity) and Dr Justin O'Grady and Prof David Livermore at UEA, is for their five-year programme "INHALE: Potential of Molecular Diagnostics for Hospital-Acquired and Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia in UK Critical Care". The award is in addition to the 16 announced today by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), the research arm of the NHS, which has invested more than £15.8 million to date in this theme, with funding of further projects expected. "Severely-ill hospital patients in intensive care often develop pneumonia. To treat this effectively with the right antibiotic doctors must know which bacteria are responsible.