Abstract
(1) Background: surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a novel method for bacteria identification. However, reported applications of SERS in clinical diagnosis are limited. In this study, we used cylindrical SERS chips to detect urine pathogens in urinary tract infection (UTI) patients. (2) Methods: Urine samples were retrieved from 108 UTI patients. A 10 mL urine sample was sent to conventional bacterial culture as a reference. Another 10 mL urine sample was loaded on a SERS chip for bacteria identification and antibiotic susceptibility. We concentrated the urine specimen if the intensity of the Raman spectrum required enhancement. The resulting Raman spectrum was analyzed by a recognition software to compare with spectrum-form reference bacteria and was further confirmed by principal component analysis (PCA). (3) Results: There were 97 samples with single bacteria species identified by conventional urine culture and, among them, 93 can be successfully identified by using SERS without sample concentration. There were four samples that needed concentration for bacteria identification. Antibiotic susceptibility can also be found by SERS. There were seven mixed flora infections found by conventional culture, which can only be identified by the PCA method. (4) Conclusions: SERS can be used in the diagnosis of urinary tract infection with the aid of the recognition software and PCA.
Highlights
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a common infection that can affect the urethra, urinary bladder, ureter, or kidneys
There were 108 samples retrieved from UTI patients for the study
The isolated bacteria were loaded on cylindrical Raman chips, and the resulting spectrum served as a reference spectrum for comparison by RM.View software, recognition software for data-processing analysis
Summary
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a common infection that can affect the urethra, urinary bladder, ureter, or kidneys. The majority of UTIs are not serious, but some can lead to a potentially life-threatening complication such as sepsis. The treatment of UTIs is complicated by the increasing prevalence and spectrum of antimicrobial resistance [1,2,3]. Empirical antibiotics are used before a bacterial-culture result is available. The used antibiotic is adjusted according to the identified pathogen and the obtained antibiotic susceptibility test. A conventional bacterial culture takes at least 24 h to return results, and even longer to obtain the result of an Molecules 2018, 23, 3374; doi:10.3390/molecules23123374 www.mdpi.com/journal/molecules
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