Antimicrobial resistance constitutes a global burden and is one of the major threats to public health. Although the emergence of resistant microorganisms is a natural phenomenon, the overuse or inappropriate use of antimicrobials has had a great effect on resistance evolution. Rapid diagnostic tests that identify drug-resistant bacteria, determine antimicrobial susceptibility and distinguish viral from bacterial infections can guide effective treatment strategies. Moreover, rapid diagnostic tests could facilitate epidemiological surveillance, as emerging resistant infectious agents and transmission can be monitored. In this Viewpoint article, several experts in the field discuss the drawbacks of current diagnostic methods that are used to identify antimicrobial resistance, novel diagnostic strategies and how such rapid tests can inform drug development and the surveillance of resistance evolution.

抗菌素耐药性构成了全球负担，也是对公众健康的主要威胁之一。虽然耐药微生物的出现是一种自然现象，但抗菌药物的过度使用或不当使用对耐药性的演变产生了很大的影响。识别耐药细菌、确定抗菌药物敏感性以及区分病毒和细菌感染的快速诊断测试可以指导有效的治疗策略。此外，快速诊断测试可以促进流行病学监测，因为可以监测新出现的耐药传染病原和传播情况。在这篇观点文章中，该领域的几位专家讨论了当前用于识别抗菌药物耐药性的诊断方法的缺点、新颖的诊断策略以及这种快速测试如何为药物开发和耐药性演变监测提供信息。