UROLOGY | Urinary Tract Infections, Prostatitis, & More

Send Us Your Most Challenging Cases

Recalcitrant infections

State-of-the-art qPCR+NGS provides actionable diagnostics that can bring an end to the cycle of frustration and pain a chronically-infected UTI, prostate, or implant patient endures. Choose qPCR+NGS when diagnosing:

Culture-negative infections
Patients not responding to current treatment
Cases where other causes have been ruled out

MicroGenDX knows urological DNA diagnostics

MicroGenDX is the only molecular lab that has:

A published randomized outcome study showing its test is superior to culture, as defined by relief of symptoms
Identified over 5,800 different microbial species in urine, with more than 157,000 urological samples processed
Published data showing 96.1% concordance with culture and 12 years of CAP proficiency test results with 99.2% accuracy

Species panel	Test frequency	Number of blinded samples per test	Total number of blinded specimens	Proficiency score
IDR	3 times per year for 7 years	5	105	98.1%
MRS-5M	3 times per year for 12 years	5	180	100%
F1	3 times per year for 12 years	5	180	98.30%
D8	3 times per year for 12 years	5	180	99.40%
VRE	2 times per year for 12 years	2	50	100%
GIP	3 times per year for 4 years	5	60	100%
HC-6	3 times per year for 3 years	5	45	100%
TVAG	2-3 times per year for 2 years	3	21	90.50%
Alternate	3 times per year for 12 years	6	216	100%
See species panel key	Blinded specimen total: 1,037	Mean accuracy rate: 99.2%

NGS tells us it’s not always E.coli

E. coli may be the dominant cause for acute UTI — but for recurrent UTIs, causes are highly variable and ideal candidates for qPCR+NGS from MicroGenDX.

Among the 157,000 urine samples processed, MicroGenDX identified about 5,800 urine bacteria species and found E.coli the dominant species in only 28% of cases.

Study of the Normal Microbiome of the Urinary Tract Using NGS

Study by J. Curtis Nickel, MD, FRCSC

"The future of managing infectious disease in Urology will involve determining the pathogenic ecology of the lower urinary tract obtained with non-culture molecular diagnostic technology such as NGS," says Dr. Nickel. "Until we know what the normal microbiome looks like in healthy individuals, it will remain difficult to interpret NGS microbiome results from urine specimens submitted by symptomatic patients.”

An abstract of the completed study has been accepted by the 2021 AUA for presentation. Read more about study

References

McDonald M, Kameh D, et al. A Head-to-Head Comparative Phase II Study of Standard Urine Culture and Sensitivity Versus DNA Next-generation Sequencing Testing for Urinary Tract Infections. Rev Urol. 2017; 19(4): 213–220. doi: 10.3909/riu0780
Das R, Tseng T, Short M, et al. Next Generation Sequencing for Microbial Analysis to Select Prophylactic Antibiotic Selection before Urologic Stone Surgery: A Culture Change. Open Journal of Urology, 11, 289-304. doi: 10.4236/oju.2021.117027
Nottingham C U, Assmus M A, Peters A W, et al. Next generation sequencing in patients with nephrolithiasis: how does it perform compared with standard urine and stone cultures? Ther Adv Urol, 2021, Vol 13:1-8. doi: 10.1177/1756287221994972

Show References

NGS AND INFECTION PREVENTION

Latest clinical evidence: MicroGenDX NGS can improve infection prevention in urological stone procedures

MicroGenDX NGS identified targetable bacteria in up to 80% of negative urine cultures prior to urological stone surgery, resulting in more than 90% of physicians indicating they would change infection management based on NGS results. In a separate study comparing NGS and culture, NGS demonstrated a higher detection rate of microorganisms for both preoperative urine and stone samples, with concordance in detection.

“These results challenge the community to think about the value proposition that NGS and 16S can offer in generating better outcomes.”
— Dr. Michael Schmidt

Therapeutic Advances in Urology study
Open Journal of Urology study

ADDITIONAL RESEARCH:

Urologic Infection Research Partnerships
View list of researchers studying the clinical application of NGS in urology