News
Innovative Diagnostics for Urinary Tract Infections
6 Aug 2026
Faster Diagnosis, Better Treatment Decisions
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common in dogs and cats. To ensure affected patients receive the most appropriate treatment as quickly as possible, it is essential to rapidly identify the causative bacteria and determine their susceptibility to antibiotics.
What the study investigated
In a recent study, veterinarian Sina Selent and the research group led by Priv.-Doz. Dr. Rowitha Dorsch and Priv.-Doz. Dr. Karin Weber evaluated a novel rapid diagnostic system designed to perform these analyses directly in the veterinary clinic within just 45 minutes. The results obtained from 363 urine samples collected from dogs and cats were compared with those of conventional microbiological diagnostics.
Key findings
The results are promising. The system reliably detected most urinary tract infections and provided antibiotic susceptibility results that agreed with the standard laboratory method in approximately 90% of cases.
At the same time, the study demonstrated that although the PA-100 AST system has considerable potential as a point-of-care analyzer for urine samples from dogs and cats, further optimization is required before it can be routinely implemented in veterinary practice. In particular, the relatively high rate of false-positive results and the frequent occurrence of system error messages currently represent important limitations.
Why it matters
This study highlights how innovative diagnostic technologies could help veterinarians diagnose urinary tract infections more rapidly and make more targeted antibiotic treatment decisions. Faster and more accurate diagnostics have the potential to improve patient care while supporting responsible antimicrobial stewardship.
Publication
Selent S, Dorsch R, Wolf G, Weber K. Evaluation of the PA-100 AST system (Sysmex) for point-of-care analysis of bacteriuria and antibiotic susceptibility testing in dogs and cats. Microbiology Spectrum (2026). https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.00811-26
Further information
https://www.sysmex.at/akademie/bibliothek/sysmex-xtra/xtra-online-urinanalyse/wer-hat-die-nase-vorn/