Preserving Antibiotics

Pathogen resistance erodes or eliminates antimicrobial efficacy in bloodstream infections.

Wet lab sample preparation for antimicrobial susceptibility testing
Why Antibiotics Work

Among the Greatest Miracles in Modern Medicine

Antibiotics and antifungals, collectively known as antimicrobials are truly among the greatest miracles in modern medicine. But today, that miracle is under threat of reversal in even the most technologically advanced nations.

Antibiotics work through a variety of mechanisms, but these can largely be summed up in one of two pathways: inhibiting microbial growth and multiplication (bacteriostatic or fungistatic), or, killing the organism outright (bactericidal or fungicidal). In both instances, the antimicrobial treatment is ultimately effective – so long as the organism, or pathogen, causing the infection is susceptible to the antimicrobial agent.

However, many species of pathogenic bacteria, and most species of fungi, exhibit resistance to one, some, or many common antimicrobial choices. Resistance erodes or eliminates antimicrobial efficacy in bloodstream infections.

A Growing Threat

Antibiotics and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)

1.27Mdeaths per year caused by AMR
3M+children's deaths linked to AMR in 2022

A 2025 study presented at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) shows that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) was linked to the deaths of over 3 million children in 2022.

These are staggering numbers, and while AMR occurs with proportionally higher incidence in developing countries, the threat grows in Australia, the US, and the rest of the world. Certain infection-causing organisms are inherently multi-drug resistant organisms (MDROs), and these can disproportionately result in mortality in bloodstream infections leading to sepsis.

Fungi such as those within the genus Candida are intrinsically resistant to many antifungals. In one recent Australian study patients with confirmed bloodstream infections involving Candida species, a candidemia, were found to have staggering 12-week mortality of 35.2%. (Horn et al.)7 And this is but one example of this rising global problem of MDROs.

Antimicrobial overuse, extended antimicrobial therapy, as well as more complex environmental issues such as agricultural and wastewater runoff create evolutionary pressures for increasing prevalence of AMR. Susceptible organisms are killed off, leaving resistant populations that multiply and pass along resistance to the next generation.

References

  1. Kumar et al. 2006, "Duration of hypotension before initiation of effective antimicrobial therapy is the critical determinant of survival in human septic shock" PMID: 16625125.
  2. Liu et al. 2017, "The Timing of Early Antibiotics and Hospital Mortality in Sepsis". PMID 28345952.
  3. Kadri et al. 2021, "Inappropriate empirical antibiotic therapy for bloodstream infections based on discordant in-vitro susceptibilities: a retrospective cohort analysis of prevalence, predictors, and mortality risk in US hospitals".
  4. Liu et al. 2016, "Frequency of empiric antibiotic de-escalation in an acute care hospital with an established Antimicrobial Stewardship Program".
  5. Global report on the epidemiology and burden of sepsis: current evidence, identifying gaps and future directions. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2020.
  6. Hu, Y., Harwell, J. (2025). Global Trends and Impact of Antimicrobial Resistance in Paediatric Populations: An Analysis Using WHO AWaRe Classification and Priority Pathogens. Oral presentation. ESCMID Global 2025.
  7. Horn et al. 2009, "Epidemiology and outcomes of candidemia in 2019 patients: data from the prospective antifungal therapy alliance registry". PMID: 35832237.
Microtiter tray with antibiotic panel for susceptibility testing
The Path Forward

Preserving Antibiotics for Our Children and Grandchildren

To the extent that doctors are empowered to optimize antimicrobial therapy, these pressures are reduced in communities, provinces, and nations.

Cytophenix can be part of the solution to AMR by empowering doctors with actionable clinical information in the form of rapid AST results. Rapid AST results give doctors definitive data to select those antimicrobials that will provide targeted treatment for the patient's infection, without overtreatment. Optimal therapy reduces the risks of adverse health effects for the patient while minimizing the introduction of resistant strains of bacteria and fungi into our communities.

AST results can save patient lives today, while preserving the efficacy of antimicrobial choices for our children and grandchildren tomorrow.

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