Test Panel Confirms Presence of ASBL Enzymes

A new test panel enables microbiology laboratories to definitively confirm the presence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) enzymes detected by screening methods.

Confirmed detection of ESBL can indicate the presence of bacterial strains that produce the enzymes. These strains include E coli, K pneumoniae, and K oxytoca, each of which may be clinically resistant to therapy with penicillins, cephalosporins, and astreonam. Clinical laboratory guidelines recommend both screening and confirmation testing for potential ESBL-producing bacteria. The new panel, called MicroScan, is designed to help laboratories comply.

The new panel also provides doctors with susceptibility results for imipenem and meropenem, each recommended treatment choices for confirmed ESBL isolates and for non-ESBL isolates. Researchers may also find the panel useful for studying emerging resistance, since it provides susceptibility results for cefotetan, cefoxitin, and piperacillin.

"Bacterial resistance to antibodies is a concern,” said Bob Brightfelt, president, global research and development, Dade Behring, Inc. (Deerfield, IL, USA). "This new panel is a means of reaching more accurate diagnoses and can lead to identifying effective treatments to manage a number of potentially serious infections that may pose the challenge of drug resistance.”




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