Towards the Identification of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Causing Urinary Tract Infections Using Volatile Organic Compounds Analysis—A Pilot Study
Keith Hewett,
Natalia Drabińska,
Paul White,
Matthew B. Avison,
Raj Persad,
Norman Ratcliffe,
Ben de Lacy Costello
Affiliations
Keith Hewett
Department of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences, University of the West of England, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK
Natalia Drabińska
Department of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences, University of the West of England, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK
Paul White
Applied Statistics Group, Department of Engineering, Design and Mathematics, Faculty of Environment and Technology, University of the West of England, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK
Matthew B. Avison
School of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TD, UK
Raj Persad
Bristol Royal Infirmary and Bristol Urological Institute, Southmead Hospital, Bristol BS10 5BN, UK
Norman Ratcliffe
Department of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences, University of the West of England, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK
Ben de Lacy Costello
Department of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences, University of the West of England, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK
Antibiotic resistance is an unprecedented threat to modern medicine. The analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from bacteria potentially offers a rapid way to determine antibiotic susceptibility in bacteria. This study aimed to find the optimal conditions to obtain the maximum number of VOCs detected which next allowed the assessment of differences in VOC profiles between susceptible and resistant isolates of Escherichia coli causing urinary tract infections. The analysis of VOCs in the headspace above the bacterial cultures allowed the distinguishing of resistant and susceptible bacteria based on the abundance of six VOCs with 85.7% overall accuracy. The results of this preliminary study are promising, and with development could lead to a practical, faster diagnostic method for use in routine microbiology.
