Diagnostics and antimicrobial therapy

The use of rapid diagnostic tests to aid appropriate antimicrobial therapy can have a huge impact on patient outcomes and clinical awareness. Most importantly, access to diagnostic tools is not equal across the board with low-and-middle-income countries often lacking the necessary infrastructure to support, for example, timely antimicrobial susceptibility testing of bacteria. Furthermore, while there is a significant drive to fill the antibiotic abyss, improving equitable access to current and new diagnostic tools is equally important, and requires a multisectoral approach.

To discuss the integral role of diagnostics in the context of antimicrobial resistance, as well as some of the latest initiatives helping to drive progress in this area, Lorna Rothery spoke to the Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance (JPIAMR) SAB Chair and expert on diagnostics, Professor Till Bachmann.