31. marzo 2026 · Health & Medicine News -- ScienceDaily
Chiunque abbia mai sofferto di un'infezione delle vie urinarie (IVU), come la comune cistite, conosce bene la frustrazione legata ai tempi di attesa. Attualmente, per scoprire quale farmaco sia in grado di debellare i batteri responsabili, i medici devono prescrivere un'urinocoltura e attendere diversi giorni per i risultati dell'antibiogramma. Ora, però, una svolta tecnologica promette di cambiare radicalmente la gestione clinica di queste infezioni, fornendo una terapia mirata in meno di sei ore.
Il segreto di questo nuovo esame risiede nella sua capacità di saltare a piè pari la tradizionale fase di coltura in laboratorio. Invece di far moltiplicare i batteri per giorni all'interno delle piastre di Petri, il test analizza direttamente il campione di urina del paziente. Osservando la reazione immediata dei microrganismi ai diversi farmaci, il sistema è in grado di indicare in tempi record quali molecole bloccano efficacemente la crescita batterica e quali, invece, risultano inutili.
I risultati delle sperimentazioni cliniche, condotte su centinaia di campioni, sono estremamente promettenti. Il nuovo metodo ha infatti dimostrato un'affidabilità altissima, eguagliando l'accuratezza degli esami standard in oltre il 96% dei casi. Questa rapidità non solo permetterà ai pazienti di ottenere sollievo e cure adeguate nello stesso giorno della diagnosi, ma fornirà anche ai medici uno strumento prezioso per combattere l'abuso di farmaci a largo spettro, arginando così la crescente minaccia globale dell'antibiotico-resistenza.
A breakthrough urine test could dramatically speed up how doctors treat urinary tract infections, identifying the right antibiotic in under six hours instead of waiting days. By testing directly from urine — skipping the usual lab culturing step — the method quickly shows which drugs stop bacterial growth and which don't. In trials involving hundreds of patient samples, the test proved highly accurate, matching standard methods in over 96% of cases.
People with urinary tract infections (UTIs) may soon get the right antibiotic much faster, thanks to a new test that delivers results in hours instead of days. Scientists at the University of Reading, working with researchers from the University of Southampton and Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, have developed a method that analyzes urine samples directly.
On average, the test can determine which antibiotic will be effective in about 5.85 hours. Current lab methods typically take two to three days to provide the same information. The research, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and published March 31 in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, evaluated 352 urine samples from patients suspected of having UTIs.
Results from the new test matched standard laboratory methods in 96.95% of cases across seven first line antibiotics used to treat UTIs. A second analysis focused on 90 duplicate samples to determine whether storage conditions affected accuracy. Researchers compared samples collected with and without a preservative and found 98.75% agreement between results, showing that the preservative did not interfere with the test.
Oliver Hancox, Chief Executive Officer of Astratus Limited, the University of Reading spin-out company that will take the test to market, said: "By the time the laboratory delivers the result under current methods, a patient may already have finished their antibiotics, or been given ones that do not work. Being able to tell a doctor the same day which antibiotic to use means the patient gets the right treatment sooner, reducing the risk of resistance developing and their infection turning into potentially lethal sepsis." Professor Mike Lewis, NIHR Scientific Director for Innovation, said: "This NIHR-funded research not only has the potential to deliver quicker, more effective treatments to patients suffering with UTIs — but also tackles the broader challenge of antimicrobial resistance. The rapid urine test is a fantastic example of the real-world solutions to AMR that the government committed to developing in its 10-Year Health Plan." According to NHS data, UTIs have resulted in more than 800,000 hospital admissions in England over the past five years.
