We have helped an international team, led by the University of Edinburgh, obtain £3 million funding and explored the need for their new diagnostic.

Problem

Ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) affects 20% of patients admitted to intensive care units in the UK. This can lead to a 2-7-fold increased risk of death. We need to find ways to improve this situation and ensure infections are treated safely and effectively.

Action

• An international team, led by Professor Kev Dhaliwal from the University of Edinburgh, has designed a new way of diagnosing lung infection in patients who are critically ill. The method passes a very fine microscope into regions of the lungs to identify specific bacteria.
• We helped the team obtain around £3 million funding from Wellcome and the Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator.
• We identified the potential advantages of the technology by conducting a systematic review and interviews with UK and USA clinicians.
• Our work is shaping the design of the project team’s studies which will evaluate the new technology.

Outcome

• Our research revealed that current procedures for diagnosing VAP are imperfect and take a long time.
• Clinicians agreed there is a need for a new diagnostic test that could provide a more accurate and quicker diagnosis of VAP.
• Interviewees believed, with further product development, the new test could improve the diagnosis of VAP and help clinicians decide when to stop antibiotic treatment.

Impact

• We enhanced the clinical study design by identifying which tests to use as a benchmark when measuring the performance of the new technology.
• Our research suggests that the test could improve the experience of patients admitted to intensive care around the world through quicker diagnosis, more effective treatment and improved quality of care.
• Our publications also provide valuable information to diagnostic developers who are creating other new technologies for identifying VAP.