"It's inordinately valuable for patients." Keith Matheny, MD

April 24, 2018

Keith Matheny, MD, is a published researcher in his field, the recipient of many awards, and has practiced medicine for fifteen years. As an ENT doctor, he knows the importance to having the right diagnostic information when choosing a treatment. Recently he took the time to share with us his experience in using MicroGen DX’s two part DNA test to help clear his patients’ infectious conditions.

“There are so many patients,” Dr. Matheny told us, “that come to me out of frustration having been treated chronically with 7, 10, 14 days of antibiotics. Many patients have been extremely grateful to have a much more precise diagnosis of the true pathogen and then being able to treat it appropriately with confidence that their is susceptibility for the bacteria. It’s extremely helpful in identifying potential gene resistance. We truly as clinicians have much more confidence picking a specific antibiotic knowing confidently that it will work.”

Dr. Matheny described how the information provided by MicroGen DX’s testing has been an eye opening experience which has challenged previous expectations as well as providing valuable insight.

“It’s proved a lot of what we’ve suspected all along,”

he told us, “that there are many different pathogens and we probably weren’t covering the patients appropriately at all from an antibiotic standpoint. It’s also taught me the role of viruses and funguses in my chronic sinus patients as well, being able to see those species is very valuable.”

Aside from helping doctors create targeted treatments for individual patients, the information provided by MicroGen DX’s two part DNA test has also started to widen the picture that doctors have about the common causes of chronic sinus infections.

“It is starting to change my opinion” Dr. Matheny told us, “and many other opinions on what are the common pathogens in a chronic sinus infection. We’ve traditionally been taught about the big three bacteria, the H flu, the strep pneumo and the moraxella, but I think with this technology used on a routine basis, we may identify many, many more, perhaps some that are even more important than those three that we traditionally have blamed.”

Dr. Matheny also described how easy it is to incorporate MicroGen DX’s genetic testing in place of the cultures which were previously used to identify microbes. He explained that, aside from providing very valuable information and insight into the cause of patient’s infectious conditions, sending samples to MicroGen DX is very easy, and very similar to the methods of taking samples which physicians have already been doing.

“There’s really no downside to doing this,” he told us.

“It’s simple to do in the normal workflow and throughput of clinic. It’s inordinately valuable for patients in improving how we take care of them. There really is no barrier to adopting this technology as standard practice.