Novel Diagnostics for Urinary Tract Infections: Molecular Methods and NGS Enter the Lab
Traditional urine culture misses low-level bacteriuria and fastidious organisms, creating a need for advanced diagnostic approaches. This review covers rapid molecular pathogen identification, metagenomic NGS, and emerging antimicrobial susceptibility testing technologies that are poised to reshape UTI diagnostics. The authors caution that implementation will require the field to adopt new interpretive concepts to avoid misdiagnosis and overtreatment.
The original study
Novel technologies for the diagnosis of urinary tract infections.
- Authors
- Bermudez T, Schmitz JE, Boswell M, Humphries R
- Journal
- Journal of clinical microbiology
- Type
- Journal Article, Review
- PMID
- 39760497
Original abstract
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) impose a substantial burden on patient quality of life and urine testing accounts for the majority of workload in many clinical microbiology laboratories. Traditional UTI diagnosis relies on symptoms, urinalysis, and culture which are interpreted based on historical guidelines. This approach, while foundational, presents limitations, particularly in complex cases. Low-level bacteriuria and the presence of fastidious organisms are often overlooked or entirely missed in standard urine culture, stressing the need for novel diagnostic methods and technologies. This mini-review summarizes the existing state of UTI diagnostics in 2024 and covers current and upcoming technologies including rapid molecular-based pathogen identification, next-generation sequencing, and advanced antimicrobial susceptibility testing. However, these methods represent unique challenges, and as they are implemented, they will require the field to adapt to new concepts to avoid misdiagnosis and overtreatment.