Sharing Successes of COMBACTE-MAGNET

COMBACTE-MAGNET Milestones

Despite the challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the changes in the consortium coordination, some remarkable milestones have been achieved:

• In WP3A, a study that elaborate on the ASPIRE-ICU data analysis of aeruginosa among ICU patients, the colonization status assessment of P. aeruginosa from respiratory and peri-anal samples has been completed;
• In WP3B, a study that aims to describe the burden of aeruginosa infections among intensive-care unit patients by mathematical modelling, the analysis of the ASPIRE–ICU data was finished;
• The EVADE study team completed the clinical study report, this trial assesses the effectiveness of MEDI3902 as preventive measure for P. aeruginosa infections, .
• Fourteen scientific papers were published in 2020, and 5 manuscripts have been submitted. All published papers can be consulted in our publications library.

Almost all planned clinical studies within COMBACTE-MAGNET have now reached the database lock. The teams are working hard on processing the results for dissemination.

More Milestones in 2021

As the funding for COMBACTE-MAGNET will end on 31^st December 2021, study teams are busy finalizing all remaining activities. In 2021 the following milestones are expected:

• The WP3A team will continue the following lab analyses:
  • Quantitative culture of additional respiratory samples towards publications
  • Central lab analyses ongoing per sample analysis plan including control patients
  • Isolate analyses: whole genome sequencing of strains
• The EVADE study team is currently working on the main publication, which will be submitted soon;
• The RESCUING study, a trial that assess the clinical management and outcomes of hospitalized patients with complicated urinary tract infections, will finalize their clinical study report, when their manuscripts have been accepted;
• Five manuscripts have been submitted and are pending for acceptance and several publications are being written.

Successes of EPI-Net

In 2020, EPI-Net – COMBACTE’s Epidemiological Network – reached important  milestones. The EPI-NET AMR travel tool has been launched; a new web-based tool to inform healthcare professionals and public on travel-associated risk for acquisition and spread of antimicrobial resistance. Another milestone of the team was the publication of the Bridge the Gap whitepapers in the journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

This year EPI-Net will start establishing EPI-Net excellence centers, a network of healthcare centers sharing epidemiology data to improve gold standard for antimicrobial resistance surveillance, infection prevention and control, and antibiotic prescribing practices.

Working on PPI

The Public Patient Involvement (PPI) panel at the North Bristol NHS Trust of WP6 have become a useful resource for infection researchers.  Their deliverables have been finalized, a systematic review into public involvement in health research and provision Europe and a to determine barriers and facilitators to PPI across Europe. Recently, the panel provided feedback on travel tools developed by EPI-Net for the public and professionals.