Why Test

Alimetrix® GI-Metrix Benefits

Diarrheal Illness

Infectious diarrhea is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Some pathogens result in bloody diarrhea or in sepsis, a potentially life-threatening complication. Occasionally there are long term adverse outcomes which include chronic kidney disease, recurring intestinal inflammation, reactive arthritis, blindness, and mental disability. Adequate fluid and electrolyte replacement is key to disease management. The use of antimicrobial therapy is based on clinical assessment of the patient and the knowledge of the causative agent. Antimicrobial therapy can cause serious adverse events when used indiscriminately in some infectious diarrheas, and can cause and prolong the carrier state. The indiscriminate use of antimotility drugs can also result in increased morbidity and mortality. The widening array of recognized pathogens responsible for infectious diarrhea sharpens the need for diagnostic testing which is comprehensive, timely, accurate, cost effective, and which results in evidence based appropriate therapies, rapid and responsive public health outbreak containment initiatives, while conserving the health care dollar. Each year (2013 data), in the United States there are approximately 9.4 million cases (one in six people) of infectious diarrhea which imposes a 15.5 billion economic burden. Eighty-four percent of the economic burden is due to deaths which reflects both the importance of reduction in mortality of and the necessity of correctly and quickly determining the causative agent. Great emphasis is placed on prevention of death by rapid and efficient public health measures to reduce the numbers of infected individuals during outbreak situations. Conventional technologies are too slow and ineffective for many pathogens.

Alimetrix® GI-Metrix Benefits

The Amazing Digestive Tract

With approximately 20 times the surface area of the skin, the digestive tract interacts with the environment more than any other organ system and most importantly, it is the host to an amazingly diverse bacterial ecosystem. Beginning at the mouth and throughout the entirety of the gut, many of these bacterial inhabitants provide fundamental physiologic capabilities necessary for our optimal health. In essence, the healthy human is a composite of species existing in a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship. Unfortunately, this balance can be disrupted in a myriad of ways, ranging from colonization by opportunistic pathogens, to antibiotic or chemotherapeutic induced dysbiosis, as well as genetically inherited diseases. Alimetrix is committed to providing diagnostic tools which enable physicians to rapidly diagnose and treat diseases of the digestive tract.

Antibiotics and The Evolving Gut Microbiome

The gastrointestinal tract is the host to an amazingly diverse bacterial ecosystem. Unfortunately, opportunistic pathogens, as well as insults caused by antibiotic or chemotherapeutic treatments can disrupt the normal symbiotic balance and result in gastrointestinal distress. Alimetrix is a leader in the detection of gastrointestinal pathogens, ranging from viruses and bacteria, to intestinal parasites. The Alimetrix® GI-Metrix provides accurate and confirmatory information so that clinicians can better target their therapies to treat an individual's disease and more rapidly affect a positive outcome.

Antibiotics are the most common medications prescribed for children. However, several studies have recently shown strong associations between early childhood antibiotic use and diseases that develop later in life, such as obesity, asthma, diabetes and autoimmunity. As such, antibiotics should only be used when absolutely necessary. Discretion is especially warranted during the first two years of life while the immune system and gut microbiome are still maturing. Unfortunately, it is estimated that up to 50% of the antibiotics administered to pediatric patients are done so needlessly and inappropriately. Given the potential for long term sequelae it is essential that the clinician differentiate between bacterial and viral infections, thus reducing unnecessary exposure to antibiotics. One of the most important roles of the Alimetrix® GI-Metrix is to inform the clinician of pathologies where antibiotics may be contraindicated.

Relevant Diagnostics Empowering Actionable Therapy®