Search Menu
The Institute of Applied Health Sciences

UK Antimicrobial Registry (UKAR)

UK Antimicrobial Registry (UKAR)

UK Antimicrobial Registry logo
Duration: 5 years (start date November 2021)
Funder: British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
Chief investigators: Professor Gary Macfarlane, Professor Gareth Jones
Other co-investigators: Professor Patrice Forget, Dr Callum Kaye (NHS Grampian), Dr Noha El Sakka (NHS Grampian)
Study coordinators: Laura Moir, Rebecca Parr
Project assistant: Jay Woods

Effective antimicrobial agents are a crucial component of modern medicine allowing the elimination or inhibition of growth of all microorganisms.  However, their effectiveness is threatened by evolutionary development of certain microbes.  According to the WHO, antimicrobial resistance is increasing world-wide, and compromising our ability to treat infectious diseases and undermining many other advances in health and medicine.  The purpose of the UKAR is to answer a broad set of research questions around novel anti-microbial agents.  It will allow us to describe the use of such novel agents throughout the UK and to quantify the clinical outcomes and safety profile associated with their use in a real world setting.

Enquiries about the study can be emailed to ukar@abdn.ac.uk.

You can find out more about the registry, including the latest study news, at the BSAC study webpages.

If you are a clinician who is interested in antimicrobial resistance, please follow the link or QR code below to the UKAR Study Expression of Interest form:

https://forms.office.com/UKAR-EOI 

QR code that links to UKAR expression of interest form

 

Participating hospital sites

News
22/08/2023 - The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC) is collaborating with the University of Aberdeen Epidemiology Group to develop the first UK Antimicrobial Registry (UKAR) to provide information about the safety and efficacy of new antimicrobials in real-world use.

 

30/05/2023 - The University of Aberdeen Epidemiology Group is collaborating with BSAC to develop the first UK Antimicrobial Registry (UKAR). The UKAR Study team is delighted to announce that NHS Grampian and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde are open for recruitment of participants to the UK Antimicrobial Registry.

 

28/04/2023 - University of Aberdeen scientists fight back against global public health emergency
18/04/2023 - Aberdeen University researchers are collaborating with BSAC to create the first UK Antimicrobial Registry (UKAR)
Why is this research important?

Antibiotics are a vital part of modern medicine as they stop the growth of bacteria that cause infection. The UKAR Study will help us look how widely these medicines are used across the UK, why they are being prescribed, and how effective they are.

Bacteria are becoming resistant to treatment with commonly used antibiotics. This means that it is becoming difficult to successfully treat some bacterial infections. It is estimated that, worldwide, deaths due to antimicrobial resistance are on the same scale as deaths due to major diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria (Lancet, 2022: Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: a systematic analysis).

Links to Resources about AMR / antibiotics:

(206) The Evolution of Bacteria on a “Mega-Plate” Petri Dish (Kishony Lab) - YouTube

Antimicrobial resistance (who.int)

Stewardship & Surveillance - The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (bsac.org.uk)

What will this research involve?

We will ask that patients give us their consent to allow us access to their medical records and allow us to collect clinical data from their notes. No further participation is required, as the study does not include any participant surveys or questionnaires.

Clinical data will be collected during treatment with the antibiotics included in the study, and then at 28 days, 6 months, and 12 months afterwards. We will collect information about the infections that the antibiotics are being used to treat, why these antibiotics were chosen and how effective they are at treating the infection.

The antibiotics included in the study are listed below:

Cefiderocol                                                                         Ceftaroline 

Ceftazidime/avibactam                                                 Ceftobiprole

Ceftolozane/tazobactam                                              Dalbavancin 

Eravacycline                                                                       Delafloxacin 

Imipenem/cilastatin/relebactam                               Oritavancin

Meropenem/vaborbactam

 

All of the information that we collect will be analysed so that we can better understand how effective the antibiotics are at treating infections and tackling antimicrobial resistance. Participants will not be identifiable in any of the findings published from this research.

Who can take part in the study?

To be included in the UKAR Study, a patient must be 18 years old or older, and have been prescribed one of the 11 study antibiotics during their current stay in a participating hospital:

Cefiderocol                                                                         Ceftaroline 

Ceftazidime/avibactam                                                 Ceftobiprole

Ceftolozane/tazobactam                                              Dalbavancin 

Eravacycline                                                                       Delafloxacin 

Imipenem/cilastatin/relebactam                               Oritavancin

Meropenem/vaborbactam

                        

The drug must have been prescribed within the last 60 days and the patient must have been treated with the drug for at least 24 hours.

As we are collecting health information, the study will ask for informed consent from patients. If a patient does not have the capacity to consent for themselves, an appropriate person will be asked to act on behalf of the patient.

If you have any questions about who can take part in the study, please email the UKAR Study team: ukar@abdn.ac.uk

How will the research benefit patients and society?

Being part of the UKAR Study does not affect the treatment that a patient receives. Therefore, individual patients do not directly benefit from participating in the study.  However, the UKAR Study will provide important information about the study drugs. The study will help us see how often these drugs are used across the UK, and to look at how safe and effective they are. Lessons learnt from the registry will help doctors across the country decide how best to treat patients in the future.

FAQs
What is required of a participant in the UKAR Study?

We will ask the patient to give their consent for us to access their hospital notes. We will not ask anything further from the patient, as there are no participant surveys or questionnaires.

How will my information be used?

No personal or identifiable information about participants in the UKAR Study will be available to anyone outside of the UKAR Study team. Personal, identifiable information will be removed from the data before it is analysed.    

Which drugs are included in the UKAR Study?

Gram negative agents:                                                   Gram positive agents:

Cefiderocol                                                                         Ceftaroline 

Ceftazidime/avibactam                                                 Ceftobiprole

Ceftolozane/tazobactam                                              Dalbavancin 

Eravacycline                                                                       Delafloxacin 

Imipenem/cilastatin/relebactam                               Oritavancin

Meropenem/vaborbactam                         

 

How many participants does a site need to recruit? 

A site will need to recruit a minimum of 20 patients over the course of the study, which is expected to be recruiting participants through to May 2026

How does my site become involved in the study?

To get involved in the UKAR Study, please complete the UKAR Expression of Interest (EOI) form which can be accessed from on the website or using the QR code:

https://forms.office.com/UKAR-EOI 

QR Code that links to expression of interest form

What are the requirements of my site?
  • Prescription of the any of the antibiotics included in the study.
  • A way to identify patients who are prescribed antibiotics included in the study.
  • Someone able to receive informed consent from participants.
  • A Principal Investigator to take responsibility for running the UKAR Study at site.

The UKAR Study is registered with the NIHR Associate PI scheme - Associate Principal Investigator Scheme

Fran Garraghan @francesgarragh1, Consultant Pharmacist & Antibiotic angel, is the UKAR Study Principal Investigator at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. Fran has made this video about setting up the study at site.

How can I get involved?

If you are interested to learn more about the UKAR Study, please follow the below links to our Expression of Interest form, or contact the team; ukar@abdn.ac.uk

https://forms.office.com/UKAR-EOI 

QR code that links to the UKAR expression of interest form

Study team

The following team will be responsible for delivering the study:

Professor Gary Macfarlane  - Chief investigator – UKAR Virtual Registry

Professor Gareth Jones – Chief Investigator – UKAR Hospital Registry

Mrs Laura Moir – Study Coordinator

Dr Rebecca Parr – Assistant Study Coordinator

Mr Jay Woods – Project Assistant

Who is funding this study?

The UKAR Study is funded by The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy

To find out more visit Home - UK Antimicrobial Registry (bsac-ukar.org)

What we have found so far

We are currently setting up our 4 pilot sites across the UK.

We will update you with findings once we have trialled the study at our pilot sites.

Patient Stories

If you are a patient involved in the UKAR study and would like to share your experiences, please contact us at ukar@abdn.ac.uk .

Contact details

If you are interested to learn more about the UKAR Study, please contact the team; ukar@abdn.ac.uk

Glossary

Chemotherapy – The use of chemicals (drugs) as therapy (treatment) against disease.

Microbe – a microorganism (such as bacteria) that can only be seen using a microscope.

Antimicrobial – Something (a drug) that works against microbes (such as bacteria).

Antimicrobial resistance – Microbes (such as bacteria) that have developed the ability to survive treatment with antimicrobial drugs (such as antibiotics).