The Research Roundup provides an overview of the past week’s research from Mayo Medical Laboratories consultants, including featured abstracts and complete list of published studies and reviews.
Diagnostics are a cornerstone of the practice of infectious diseases. However, various limitations frequently lead to unmet clinical needs. In most other domains, diagnostics focus on narrowly defined questions, provide readily interpretable answers, and use true gold standards for development. In contrast, infectious diseases diagnostics must contend with scores of potential pathogens, dozens of clinical syndromes, emerging pathogens, rapid evolution of existing pathogens and their associated resistance mechanisms, and the absence of gold standards in many situations. In spite of these challenges, the importance and value of diagnostics cannot be underestimated. Therefore, the Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group has identified diagnostics as one of four major areas of emphasis. Herein, Mayo Clinic researchers provide an overview of that development, highlighting several examples where innovation in study design, content, and execution is advancing the field of infectious diseases diagnostics. The study was published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.