Antimicrobial Resistance

HealthTrackRx infection testing is the right solution for health plans that want to benefit from advanced diagnostic testing to minimize Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and reduce the cost associated with undetected infection.

Mitigate Rising Costs and Manage Patient Outcomes

AMR is recognized by the CDC and WHO as one of the greatest threats to public health worldwide¹, and having fast, actionable data to accurately diagnose patients is paramount. HealthTrackRx provides proprietary solutions to AMR, including our patient-specific resistance profile, which removes the guesswork by detecting antibiotic resistance genes. Personalized result reports help physicians prescribe patients an antibiotic that works – the first time. Our partnership with providers produces increasingly positive patient outcomes while mitigating rising healthcare costs.

Antimicrobial Resistance:

A Global Crisis

Antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria develop mutations that make them resistant to the antibiotics used to treat infections.¹

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global public health crisis, making empiric treatment options for patients difficult. Inappropriate and overuse of antibiotics is the primary driver of AMR, caused in part by clinicians relying on broad-spectrum antibiotic use, which increases resistance to last resort broad-spectrum antibiotics.

Resistant infections lead to higher death rates and are more expensive to treat.¹

If our healthcare system fails to decrease AMR, by 2050, deaths from antimicrobial resistant infections are estimated to total 10 million, more than cancer, diabetes and road traffic accidents.²

PCR vs. Culture:

Patient Case Studies

Patient Case Study 1:
PCR for Gastrointestinal Infections: Before PCR Testing

Audrey was born 12 weeks premature at a hospital with a level III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

She later developed the symptoms of a gastrointestinal (GI) infection. Based upon her worsening condition, the doctor suspected a possibility of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).

NEC is a devastating disease affecting the intestine, mostly in premature infants, with a 25 percent mortality rate.⁶

The cost of NEC is $180,000 to $198,000/infant and nearly doubles to $313,000/infant for surgically treated NEC. In the first 3 years of life, NEC survivors also accrue substantially higher outpatient costs. ⁶

Patient Case Study 1: (Cont.)
PCR for Gastrointestinal Infections: After PCR Testing

Enteroinvasive E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus infections were identified with the help of HealthTrackRx.

The HealthTrackRx report also included antimicrobial resistance genes and identified the Staphylococcus aureus as harboring the mecA gene, indicative of methicillin resistant (MRSA). Audrey’s antibiotic treatment was adjusted, and actions were taken to address the MRSA detected.

Five days later, and two days after Audrey finished her antibiotic treatment, the culture and sensitivity test results confirmed E. coli as the source of the infection, and reinforced the antibiotic used for treatment.

Patient Case Study 2:
PCR for Urinary Tract Infections: Before PCR Testing

Shirley, an 82-year-old female with a previous history of pelvic wall/floor collapse/prolapse and frequent and chronic recurrent UTI’s, required bladder mesh surgery.

Shirley developed a UTI, and antibiotics were administered. Culture and sensitivity testing was ordered, and Shirley was hospitalized after 3-4 days with fever and worsening symptoms.

Another urinalysis was performed, which confirmed a UTI, and creatinine was high upon Shirley’s admission to hospital. Another culture and sensitivity test was ordered. Results of both culture and sensitivity tests were inconclusive.

Shirley was treated with systemic antibiotics and released after creatinine came back down to normal in 5 days.

Patient Case Study 2: (Cont.)
PCR for Urinary Tract Infections: After PCR Testing

Shirley became symptomatic with a recurrent UTI. Within two weeks, she became symptomatic, and her urinalysis was read as positive, she was started on an antibiotic, cephalexin.

Shirley’s symptoms did not improve, she was hospitalized as a result, and PCR testing was performed. It was then determined that the recurrent UTI was a result of an E. coli. Infection. Antimicrobial resistance to cephalexin was reported on the HealthTrackRx PCR Personalized Antibiogram which led to Shirley being administered twice daily nitrofurantoin. Shirley’s symptoms quickly resolved.

Her extended care could easily have been prevented.

Patient Case Study 3:
PCR for Respiratory Infections: Before PCR Testing

A 10-year-old boy, Conner, was taken to his local pediatrician after experiencing fever and a deep cough.

The physician ordered a point-of-care test for both influenza and group A streptococcus. Both tests returned negative results, and Conner was sent home.

Patient Case Study 3: (Cont.)
PCR for Respiratory Infections: After PCR Testing

Four days later, Conner was admitted to the hospital with breathing difficulty and was sent to the ICU.

A full respiratory panel PCR test was ordered STAT on the same sample.

HealthTrackRx PCR testing returned rapid results within 24 hours. Adenovirus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Haemophilus influenzae were detected. Conner was quickly put on the correct antibiotic.

If the physician had used complete PCR diagnostics when symptoms worsened, the correct antibiotic could have been given, and hospitalization likely would have been avoided.

Patient Case Study 1

Patient Case Study 2

Patient Case Study 3

HealthTrackRx

Solutions for AMR

HealthTrackRx provides solutions that help decrease AMR through diagnostics that enable effective antibiotic stewardship practices.

HealthTrackRx SOLUTION

Rapid Diagnostics

Rapid diagnostics reduce unnecessary prescriptions.⁴

HealthTrackRx PCR returns results the next morning, as compared to 3-14 days with culture, enabling rapid, more comprehensive diagnoses.

Operating nationwide, HeathTrackRx’s state-of-the-art ordering platform and logistics solutions guarantees practitioners next-morning clinically actionable results.

HealthTrackRx SOLUTION

Personalized Antibiogram

How it Works

Our patient-specific resistance profile offers physicians a wide selection of microbe-specific antibiotics, maximizing the opportunity to choose a non-broad-spectrum antibiotic. Our results detail targeted monotherapy for simple infections and allow for combination antibiotic treatment for complex infections to avoid broad spectrum antibiotic use and specialty antibiotics when possible.

With personalized AMR results, clinicians can prescribe with confidence, significantly reducing the costs of treatment and improving patient health.

HealthTrackRx SOLUTION

Advancing Antimicrobial Stewardship

Utilizing HealthTrackRx PCR testing helps health plans manage spend and support population health management.

Clinically actionable prescribing information directly reduces the incidence of sepsis and other complications landing patients in the ER and limits reliance on specialty compound therapeutics.

Take Action Now to Mitigate Risk and Reduce Unnecessary Expenditures
Antimicrobial resistance is recognized as one of the greatest threats to human health worldwide according to the IDSA.⁴

Partner With Us

¹ https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antibiotic-resistance
² Filice GA, Nyman JA, Lexau C, Lees CH, Bockstedt LA, Como-Sabetti K, Lesher LJ, Lynfield R. Excess costs and utilization associated with methicillin resistance for patients with Staphylococcus aureus infection. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2010 Apr;31(4):365-73. doi: 10.1086/651094. PMID: 20184420. And Review on Antimicrobial Resistance.
³https://amr-review.org/sites/default/files/December%20report%20-%20comparative%20deaths.jpg and Review on Antimicrobial Resistance.
⁴Shapiro DJ, Hicks LA, Pavia AT, Hersh AL. Antibiotic prescribing for adults in ambulatory care in the USA, 2007-09. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2014 Jan;69(1):234-40. doi: 10.1093/jac/dkt301. Epub 2013 Jul 25. PMID: 23887867 and Review on Antimicrobial Resistance.
⁵https://www.idsociety.org/public-health/antimicrobial-resistance/archive-antimicrobial-resistance/facts-about-antibiotic-resistance/
⁶Advances in Nutrition, Volume 8, Issue 1, January 2017, Pages 80-91

Antimicrobial Resistance

Mitigate Rising Costs and Manage Patient Outcomes