What providers say
about Guidance^® UTI — in their own words.

Since I have been using Guidance^®, I am no longer suffering from the daily frustration of interpreting the “mixed colonies” results of traditional urine cultures.

I worked in a family practice clinic as an RN for 6 years with the primary role of collecting urine culture samples and contacting patients with results and medication recommendations from providers. Patients were constantly calling before results had returned because their symptoms were not improving with antibiotics prophylactically. Then 2–5 days later when culture results indicated they had been taking the wrong medication, they were very frustrated.

A few years later as an APRN in the Urology specialty, I had never heard of advanced molecular testing for urine. I cannot say enough great things about Guidance^® UTI results. They are faster, more accurate, and allow me to treat my patients with an effective medication choice the first time. Patients are often referred with persistent UTI symptoms, multiple “negative cultures,” and numerous unnecessary courses of antibiotics. One Guidance^® UTI test is done and they often have results showing numerous low-growth bacteria, or bacteria not tested on traditional urine cultures, and they can be treated effectively on the first try. This testing is allowing us to provide the best care to our patients, and help fight the epidemic of multidrug resistance by avoiding exposure to unnecessary, ineffective antibiotics.

As healthcare providers we know how difficult and challenging treating recurrent UTI patients can be. Urine culture, the “gold standard” in care for testing for urinary tract infection, has limitations — among the most frustrating lab results: “mixed flora” or “concern for contaminated specimen.” Many of my recurrent UTI patients have struggled with symptoms with numerous “negative” urine cultures. When patients ultimately get referred to Urology, they feel defeated and hopeless. Approximately 15 months ago I began utilizing Guidance^® UTI in my practice.

Culture can only grow out certain organisms and since using Guidance^® UTI I have been able to capture infection that otherwise simply would not have grown in that media or would not have been completed due to multiple organisms being seen. For nearly all my new recurrent UTI patients, I have begun to utilize Guidance^® UTI as my baseline urine test to compare to past urine cultures. At many of my new consultations after discussing this testing, my patients say they finally feel hopeful. As I treat these patients moving forward from consultation, I will often alternate urine culture and Guidance^® UTI to help guide treatment plan. On multiple occasions, I have seen >3 organisms found by Guidance^® UTI.

Not only can I be reassured in finding infection, but I also employ the lab to rule out infectious process in my patients with chronic bladder pain or chronic dysuria. The Guidance^® UTI pooled sensitivity allows me to know which specific antibiotic will treat the organism(s) seen with less delay in proper treatment. Even though Guidance^® UTI is a send-out lab, it has been well covered for my patients by their insurance with few cases of no coverage. In those instances, the company has worked with my patients to get their bill to a reasonable cost. Having this lab as another tool to treating this challenging diagnosis has given me hope as a Urology provider.

I have been working in Urology for just over 3 years now as an APRN. When dealing with either uncomplicated or complicated UTIs, I would first counsel patients, after an exam, on a treatment care plan and the exact reasoning behind treatment, based on culture-proven organisms to then help guide treatment. Unfortunately, waiting for these culture results could potentially take greater than 72 hours to treat based off MIC.

When a representative from Pathnostics introduced us to urine PCR testing through Pathnostics a few years ago, I was skeptical at first. However, since that occasion my practice involving treatment for UTIs has changed tremendously for the better. While previous hospital cultures may return results as “contaminated” or “mixed flora,” which seems to happen often, Guidance^® UTI identifies the specific urologic pathogens in the specimen, even when multiple organisms are present.

The testing involves a precise type of nucleic amplification technology, especially for the targeted molecular detection of bacterial and yeast DNA along with bacterial resistance genes — a huge help given the extremely quick turnaround with results, leading to faster treatments. It can identify up to 27 individual organisms with 3 bacterial groups, along with 13% lower outpatient problem visits, 67% lower hospitalization rate, and 42% decreased rates to the Emergency Room and inpatient admission.

Overall, Guidance^® UTI recognizes specific pathogenic organisms and effective treatments for polymicrobial cases compared to my previous recommended treatment plan. As all patients continue to seek out high-quality care, this is my personal recommendation that every provider should start and continue with using this company for better results and faster treatments when treating those with bothersome UTIs — either acute or chronic.

I have been a Urology Physician Assistant for over five years. Working in a subspecialized field, we usually do not see routine urinary tract infections. Most of these patients may already have been treated with multiple antibiotics prior to presenting to my office. An additional set of patients will have negative urine cultures despite having symptoms. These patients want answers and one of the first tests I order is Guidance^® UTI. It has improved my diagnostic accuracy in these patients. The quick turnaround and individualized results lead to exceptional care for these patients. I am able to clearly identify what organisms are present and review all appropriate antibiotic options.

Additionally, a negative Guidance^® UTI result is also an important finding. With a negative result, I can avoid prescribing unnecessary antibiotics, discuss alternative treatments, and arrive at the correct diagnosis much faster.

One of the most challenging aspects of any busy urology practice is management of patients with frequent urinary tract infections. In recent years our understanding of bladder microflora has significantly evolved. It is a coexistence of several bacterial strains with a complete unique way of genetic interaction between them.

Here is where the Guidance^® UTI test provides unparalleled help in shedding light on types of bacteria in the urinary tract of a particular patient with their susceptibility to antibiotics, including fastidious ones, which would not be discovered by a routine urine culture. It also deciphers patterns of unique interaction between the species, which renders combined susceptibility of this microbiome to antibiotics and significantly improves odds of successful therapy. Different bacterial species often exchange their plasmids containing genes of resistance to antimicrobial agents, so the Guidance^® test gives us an insight to these interactions and a roadmap to cure.