MULTIPARAMETER METABOLIC PATTERN INFECTION DIAGNOSIS

CONTINUOUS AMBULATORY PERITONEAL DIALYSIS (CAPD) IS NOW RECOGNIZED AS A FEASIBLE ALTERNATIVE FOR HEMODIALYSIS IN END-STAGE RENAL FAILURE. THE RAPID AND POTENTIALLY LETHAL DEVELOPMENT OF PERITONITIS IS A MAJOR LIMITATION AND CONCERNFOR THE CAPD PHYSICIAN AND PATIENT. CURRENT CONVENTIONAL TECHNIQUES FOR CULTURING, DETECTING, AND CLASSIFYING INFECTION IN CAPD ARE NOT FULLY ADEQUATE TO TREAT PERITONITIS. THE RECENT DEVELOPMENT OF COMPUTERIZED, MULTIPLE ELECTROCHEMICAL SENSOR CHROMATOGRAPHY TECHNOLOGY (N-ELC) OFFERS A ROUTE TO A RAPID INSTRUMENTAL DIAGNOSIS OF CAPD INFECTION THROUGH THE DETECTION OF UNIQUE, SMALL-MOLECULE PATHOGEN METABOLITES. CURRENT N-ELC TECHNOLOGY TAKES 60 MINUTES TO SEPARATE AND CAN DETECT APPROXIMATELY 250 COMPOUNDS IN PERITONEAL DIALYSATE AT FEMTOGRAM SENSITIVITIES. PRELIMINARY WORK HAS INDICATED THAT 6 TO 8 OF THESE ARE ASSOCIATED WITH INFECTION. THE PROPOSED WORK INVOLVES VERIFICATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF UNIQUE MARKERS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF RAPID N-ELC TESTINGPROTOCOLS TO OPEN A MARKET FOR THE CURRENT N-ELC RESEARCH EQUIPMENT IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES.