U.K.-based Mologic has earned a CE mark for a point-of-care test that screens peritoneal dialysis patients for infection. The test, designed for at-home use, rapidly warns patients and caregivers of infection.
Unlike hemodialysis, which uses an external filter to clean the blood, peritoneal dialysis uses the peritoneum—the membrane that lines the inside of the abdomen—as a natural filter. Hemodialysis may be performed at a dialysis center, hospital or at home, but it requires patients to be connected to a dialysis machine for hours at a time, multiple times a week. Patients on peritoneal dialysis may be treated while they go about their daily activities, or at night, while they sleep.
Both types of dialysis require an access point. Peritoneal dialysis patients will have a catheter surgically placed in the chest or abdomen ahead of treatment. Patients with catheters in their abdomen are more prone to peritonitis, a serious infection that requires antibiotic treatment. Quick treatment is crucial in warding off further problems, including damage to the peritoneal membrane.
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Current tests can take longer than 24 hours to diagnose infection, while Mologic’s Periplex test returns results in 10 minutes, the company said in a statement. It detects two infection biomarkers in waste fluid from peritoneal dialysis. If given a positive result, a patient may then promptly seek care.
“PERiPLEX is the first of a pipeline of products from Mologic to receive CE mark approval. We are developing similar diagnostic tests for a range of disease areas, including sepsis, urinary tract infections and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),” said CEO Mark Davis in the statement. “Each of these tests use lateral flow immunoassay technology to detect a host inflammatory response, for rapid, point-of-care diagnosis and, importantly, to enable earlier treatment for patients.”