New NIHR Nottingham BRC Funded Research; Understanding novel Point of Care testing of Alkyl Quinolones for Pseudomonas Aeruginosa (UnPAQ) – a feasibility study

We will shortly commence recruitment into a new research study funded by the NIHR Nottingham BRC Respiratory Theme with Dr Helen Barr of the NIHR Nottingham BRC and the University of Nottingham as the Chief Investigator.

The research study will be led by Dr Jordan Busby a clinical research fellow funded by the NIHR Nottingham BRC Respiratory Theme.

Understanding novel Point of Care testing of Alkyl Quinolones for Pseudomonas Aeruginosa (UnPAQ) – a feasibility study

What is the purpose of the study?

The overall study is looking at point-of care test to look at a specific signal molecule that is produced by a bug called Pseudomonas Aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa). Study A focuses on looking at individuals who are unwell with worsening symptoms (an exacerbation) and have cystic fibrosis. Study B is looking at individuals with other conditions that increase your risk of having a chronic respiratory infection with P. aeruginosa or have an acute respiratory or urine infection with P. aeruginosa.

This bug, P. aeruginosa, is a problem in patients with cystic fibrosis and can be a challenge to treat. Often if you have grown this bug previously you need specific antibiotics to treat it.  If you have an exacerbation, we have to use targeted antibiotics that can cause a number of side effects.  Currently to confirm you have an infection, we take a respiratory tract sample and send it to the laboratory to see if we grow any bugs. The results can take a few days to come back. Depending on what bugs we grow will change which antibiotics we use. This study is to see if there is a faster way to identify this bug, P. aeruginosa, through detecting a specific signal molecule in a quick and efficient way.

This study aims to determine if a new method for detecting P. aeruginosa can be used by sampling saliva (spit), sputum (phlegm), blood, urine or nasal swab. Your samples (respiratory tract and viral swab) will be sent as normal to the NHS to see if they grow P. aeruginosa or other bugs and you will have appropriate antibiotics, as required, from the clinical team looking after you. We will then perform a point-of-care test on these samples, similar to the lateral flow tests used during the COVID pandemic. This will allow us to compare the results of the quick test against the current standard test. This study will help to pave the way for future testing and trials using this device. In addition, we will look at some of the ways P. aeruginosa is functioning to cause illness in people with cystic fibrosis.

The chief investigator (Dr Helen Barr) is involved in the commercialisation, designing and patenting of this device with the company MiDx, for which she is on the board of directors.