Duration: Ongoing from 02 November 2021
Funder:
Chief investigators: Professor Gary Macfarlane , Professor Gareth Jones
Other co-investigators: Dr Callum Kaye (NHS Grampian), Dr Noha El Sakka (NHS Grampian)
Study coordinators: Dr Rebecca Parr , Jisha Babu , Jonathan Lock
Research Analyst: Dr Ross Macdonald
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 World Health Organisation (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 .
Expression of Interest
If you are a clinician who is interested in antimicrobial resistance, please complete the UKAR Study Expression of Interest form below. You can also access the form from .
Participating Study Locations
- News
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Social Media Posts๐๐ Huge congrats to the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust team for reaching 100 participants in the #UKARStudy! Funded by BSAC & supported by Pfizer, Menarini & Shionogi — driving progress in tackling antimicrobial resistance & improving patient care. ๐๐ #NHSResearch #BSAC #UKAR
— Epidemiology Group, 51cg ()๐ขSTUDY UPDATE; 12-month extension to UKAR ๐๏ธ The #UKARStudy team are delighted to announce that the @nihr.bsky.social-supported UK Antimicrobial Registry has extended #Participant #recruitment to May 2027. Get involved in the @bsacandjac.bsky.social-funded #AMR study TODAY โก๏ธ tinyurl.com/4j7vs5tv
— Epidemiology Group, 51cg ()The #UKAR team is lucky to work with some outstanding Principal Investigators across the UK! ๐ Ceri Phillips, Consultant Antimicrobial Pharmacist & NICE panel member, leads the #UKARStudy team at Aneurin Bevan UHB. Here's why she got involved โฌ๏ธ ๐ www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
— Epidemiology Group, 51cg ()Great to see our #Epidemiology Group represented at May’s @bsacandjac.bsky.social Spring Conference! ๐Dr Rebecca Parr & Jisha Babu joined #UKAR Chief Investigators Profs Macfarlane & Jones to share insights from the #UKARStudy #AMR #AntimicrobialResistance #AMS www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
— Epidemiology Group, 51cg ()“Antimicrobial resistance has not gone away.” – Prof Andrew Seaton, BSAC President @bsacandjac.bsky.social The recent #BSAC Spring Conference brought the #AMR community together to tackle these urgent challenges. ๐ฝ๏ธ Highlights: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
— Epidemiology Group, 51cg ()๐ 100 Participants and Counting!๐ @nhsgrampian.bsky.social & University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust have both recruiting 100 participants into the UK Antimicrobial Registry #UKARStudy — a significant achievement in our shared mission to tackle antimicrobial resistance ๐ฆ ๐ซ โจHuge thanks ๐
— Epidemiology Group, 51cg ()๐ฉบCelebrating our #UKAR Research Nurses – not just on #InternationalNursesDay, but every day๐ In clinical research, they are the bridge between protocols & patients—bringing empathy, precision & dedication to every step. ๐ www.linkedin.com/posts/epidem... @nhsgrampian.bsky.social #ClinicalResearch
— Epidemiology Group, 51cg ()๐ขCalling all #DataAnalysts and #ResearchFellows. The #UKARStudy team are #hiring! Use your #StatisticalAnalysis and #MathematicalModel know-how to assess #antimicrobialresistance as part of the @bsacandjac.bsky.social UK Antimicrobial Registry www.abdnjobs.co.uk/vacancy/rese... CLOSING 30-Apr-2025 ๐โ๏ธ
— Epidemiology Group, 51cg ()๐ฆ We’re hiring! Join the fight against #antimicrobial #resistance with the UK Antimicrobial Registry #UKAR at @uniofaberdeen.bsky.social ๐ฌ๐งฌ We're looking for a Research Fellow (Analyst) with experience in large-scale epidemiological data ๐๐ป #AMR #ResearchJobs #Epidemiology #PublicHealth #Vacancy
— Epidemiology Group, 51cg ()
src="https://www.linkedin.com/embed/feed/update/urn:li:ugcPost:7308851336656154625?collapsed=1" width="504" height="399" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="">๐ The #UKAR Study is now open at 51 hospital sites across the UK — including #England, #Scotland, #Wales, #NorthernIreland, and even an island off England’s south coast! ๐๏ธ๐ฅ๐งช Huge thanks to all #NHS teams & research partners making this possible! ๐ #AMR #HealthResearch #ClinicalResearch
— Epidemiology Group, 51cg ()The #UKAR has added: โ Aztreonam/avibactam #Emblaveo โ Cefepime/enmetazobactam #Exblifep Now tracking 13 antibiotics to assess real-world safety ๐ฆบ & effectiveness ๐ in patients with resistant infections ๐ www.abdn.ac.uk/iahs/academi... โ๏ธ ukar@abdn.ac.uk #AMR #Antibiotics #Research
— Epidemiology Group, 51cg ()๐ฃ New #antibiotics added to the UK Antimicrobial Registry #UKAR! ๐๐ฆ In collaboration with @bsacandjac.bsky.social, #UKAR collects real-world data on drugs targeting #superbugs — #bacteria #resistant to antibiotics ๐งซ ๐ท #AMR causes over 1.27 million deaths globally each year and is a growing threat
— Epidemiology Group, 51cg ()๐The #UKARStudy is delighted to open our 50th hospital site for recruitment of consenting participants to the @bsacandjac.bsky.social collaboration. @frimleyhealth.bsky.social Wexham Park site are now part of the study looking into #antimicrobialresistance #AMR #getinvolvedinresearch #tackleAMR
— Epidemiology Group, 51cg ()๐จGreat article from @bsacandjac.bsky.social about the progress of the @uniofaberdeen.bsky.social UK Antimicrobial Registry (UKAR) Study. The #UKARStudy team work with hospitals and patients across the UK to collect data on antibiotics used for #antimicrobialresistance ๐ฆ bsac.org.uk/uk-antimicro...
— Epidemiology Group, 51cg ()The #UKARStudy team are delighted that Dr Noha El Sakka @nhsgrampian.bsky.social and fellow delegates at the Westminster Health Forum Policy Conference included the @bsacandjac.bsky.social collaboration in their approach to tackling #antimicrobialresistance #AMR Learn more here: tinyurl.com/yhk7mt5p
— Epidemiology Group, 51cg ()Congratulations to on recruiting their 100th participant to the ! ๐ Thank you to the team for all of your support and hard work! ๐ช๐ฌ
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)It's World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week, so a good day to highlight the UK Antimicrobial Registry .
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)
Currently recruiting above target, with 570 patients from 40 hospitals all over the UK.Terrific Thursday. The team are delighted to add as a recruiting centre to the registry. We are looking forward to working with you. To learn more about the study; & register your interest๐ฉบ
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)The team are delighted to add and as recruiting centres to the registry. We are looking forward to working with you. The study has now achieved 46 of our 50 site target๐ฅณbut are still happy to talk to you๐ฉบ
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)The team are feeling enthusiastic after a day of hard work on making the final touches to their latest project
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)TALLY-TASTIC TUESDAY! The team are delighted to announce that at the half-way point of participant recruitment to the study, we have reached 50% of our recruitment target. Massive thanks to all our participating sites
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)FAB FRIDAY: The team are delighted to open our 43rd site for recruitment to the UK Antimicrobial Registry. This week we welcome the team . We're looking forward to working with you
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)The are delighted to see UKAR Steering Committee member and President discussing with . The UK Antimicrobial Registry is still open to participant recruitment. Find out more about the study here;
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)FAB FRIDAY: The team are delighted to open another site for recruitment to the UK Antimicrobial Registry. This week we say hello to our first island site . We're looking forward to working with you
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)The team is delighted to welcome as Assistant Study Coordinator. To and learn more about being a recruiting centre for the collaboration, please get in touch with the team; ukar@abdn.ac.uk
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)The team bid a very fond farewell today to Study Coordinator who has been a dedicated member of the Epidemiology group for the past 6 years. We all wish Laura well as she embarks on her next role with
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)TERRIFIC THURSDAY: The team are delighted to open another site for recruitment to the UK Antimicrobial Registry. Today we say croeso & diolch to colleagues . We're looking forward to working with you
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)THANKFUL THURSDAY: The team are delighted to open another site for recruitment to the UK Antimicrobial Registry. Today we welcome colleagues from . We're really looking forward to working with you
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)The team are delighted to announce that an introduction to the collaboration has been published in JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance | Oxford Academic ( )
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY: The team are delighted to open another site for recruitment to the UK Antimicrobial Registry. Today we welcome colleagues from Plymouth We're looking forward to working with you
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)The are looking for a dynamic, dedicated, motivated team player with an interest in to come and work with us on the UK Antimicrobial Registry. Closing date 01-July-2024;
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)TERRIFIC TUESDAY: The team are delighted to welcome Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust as a recruiting centre in the UK Antimicrobial Registry. We look forward to working with you
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)NEW STUDY SITE: The team are delighted to welcome as a recruiting centre in the UK Antimicrobial Registry. We look forward to working with you on this study.
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY: The team are delighted to open another site for recruitment to the UK Antimicrobial Registry. Today we welcome our 6th Scottish site with PI . We're looking forward to working with you
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)THRILLING THURSDAY: The team are delighted to open another TWO site for recruitment to the UK Antimicrobial Registry. Today we welcome and We're looking forward to working with you
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)FANTASTIC FRIDAY: The team are delighted to open another site for recruitment to the UK Antimicrobial Registry. Today we welcome . We're looking forward to working with you
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)A massive thank you and congratulations to the team for reaching their participant recruitment target to the registry. We're also very grateful that you have agreed to continue participant recruitment to the study
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)MAGIC MONDAY: The team are delighted to open another site for recruitment to the UK Antimicrobial Registry. Today we welcome Croeso & diolch, we're looking forward to working with you
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)The team at
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)THANKFUL THURSDAY: The team are delighted to open 2 more sites for recruitment to the UK Antimicrobial Registry this week. Welcome to and . We're looking forward to working with you
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)Since the Nov 2023 publication the now has 226 participants recruited by the 28 recruiting centres across all 4 devolved nations of the UK. To learn more and to follow the link:
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)Wonderful Wednesday: The team is delighted to welcome Sandwell & West Birmingham NHS Trust as a recruiting centre for the UK Antimicrobial Registry. We're looking forward to working with you.
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)The team are virtually attending the Living with Chronic and Complex UTIs conference today, to learn about the importance of research for people affected by
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)FANTASTIC FRIDAY: The team are delighted to open 2 more sites for recruitment to the UK Antimicrobial Registry this week. Welcome to and Croeso & diolch to We're looking forward to working with you.
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)Wonderful Wednesday news: The team is delighted to welcome as our 25th recruiting centre for the UK Antimicrobial Registry. We're looking forward to working with you.
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)Milestone Alert! have recruited 50 participants to the - 50% of their target. Many thanks to and the team. UKAR: The secrets of successful study site - The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy ( )
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)The team is delighted to welcome as a recruiting centre for the UK Antimicrobial Registry. We're looking forward to working with you. More here: ;
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)The team is delighted to welcome as a recruiting centre for the UK Antimicrobial Registry. We are looking forward to working with you. More here: ;
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)The UKAR team would like to thank for attending our monthly study drop in session. We value your feedback and hope to see you all again at our next session on 20th March!
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)The team is delighted to welcome as a recruiting centre for the UK Antimicrobial Registry. We are looking forward to working with you. Learn more:
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)Fantastic Friday - The team is delighted to welcome 2 new sites and to the UK Antimicrobial Registry. This comes on the back of our top recruiting week to date; 11 new people bringing us to 133 participants
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)The team is delighted to welcome as a recruiting centre for the UK Antimicrobial Registry. Croeso & diolch! We are looking forward to working with you. Learn more here
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)Fantastic Friday - The team is delighted to welcome as a recruiting centre for the UK Antimicrobial Registry. We are looking forward to working with you. Learn more here
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)team are delighted to welcome @ImperialNHSas as a recruiting centre for the UK Antimicrobial Registry Study. We look forward to working with you
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)The is registered with the Associate Principal Investigator (API) scheme. Learn more about the study, the scheme, and hear from about the her experience of being an API :
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)The UK Antimicrobial Registry has recruited is 100th study participant.
— Gareth Jones (@hteraG_senoJ)
Massive thanks and well done to the study team, and all staff at recruiting centres.
And now ... onwards and upwards.The is registered with the Associate Principal Investigator (API) scheme. Learn more about the study, the scheme, and hear from about the her experience of being an API :
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)Thanks to all the hard work at our research sites, the recruited 21 new participants over December making last month a new record for the number of participants recruited in a single month!
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)Fantastic Friday - the team are delighted to open NHS Lothian for recruitment of participants to the study, with APIs and
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)The team is delighted to welcome as a recruiting centre for the UK Antimicrobial Registry. We are looking forward to working with you.
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)The team is delighted to welcome as a recruiting centre for the UK Antimicrobial Registry. We are looking forward to working with you.
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)The team is delighted to welcome as a recruiting centre for the UK Antimicrobial Registry. We are looking forward to working with you.
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)The Epi Group all during whilst listening to a thoroughly thought-provoking talk by of
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)The site team kick off and to promote Preventing Antimicrobial Resistance Together.
— rebecca parr (@reb_parr)Calling all site teams across the UK. Join the office team, embrace , share the message and share your site study team photos.
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)It has been a fantastic week for the as we have been able to open 3 more sites for recruitment of participants to the UK Antimicrobial Registry. Many thanks to and . We're looking forward to working with you.
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)The team are very happy to open recruitment at 2 more UK hospital sites to the registry. Welcome and thank you for coming onboard and
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)The team are delighted to announce that we are open to recruitment to the study in Northern Ireland as today we Green Light . Many thanks to , and all the team.
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)FANTASTIC NEWS! The team are delighted to welcome and PI to the UK Antimicrobial Registry. We look forward to working with you as we move toward a better understanding of .
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)First Recruit Friday! The are delighted to have our first recruit . Thank you to the team, PI David Jenkins & . To learn more about how to in the study follow the link
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)The is looking forward to working with of who has registered with the Associate Principal Investigator scheme . The scheme is a great way to and develop your clinical research career.
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)Great article from featuring the , which represents an opportunity for pharmacists to as Principal Investigators and Associate Principal Investigators on an observational study looking into
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)Exciting News! Join us in celebrating a groundbreaking moment for & ! Thrilled to announce as the FIRST site in Northern Ireland to join in almost 20 years of studies. Thanks to everyone involved!
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)Want to get involved in research? scheme. The UKAR Study provides a great training opportunity. Work alongside the Local PI on an NIHR portfolio study, find out more here: .
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)
Welcome to our newestFantastic to see the on . Thank you to the team . Coincidentally, today we have our first participant Many thanks to PI and the UKAR Study team.
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)Are you interested in antimicrobial resistance?
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)
Do you want to be involved in UK-wide research into the effective use of new-to-market antibiotics?
The UK Antimicrobial Registry would like to hear from you. Learn moreGreat news! Green Light Day for the and Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust We look forward to working with you on the UK Antimicrobial Registry Study
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)Congratulations to for recruiting their first participant. It only took 4 days from to recruit #1. Many thanks to the site study team for a great job.
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)FANTASTIC NEWS! Green Light Day for the and Thank you to PI Ryan Hamilton and all the team - you guys are worthy of a ROSE Award. Looking forward to working together
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)Fantastic Friday update - have recruited 3 more participants to the study this week. Many thanks to everyone involved; you have a great team.
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)The is registered for the NIHR Associate PI scheme . To find out how trainees in your NHS trust/board can be included, please email the team (ukar@abdn.ac.uk) and visit the link
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)Today the team says goodbye to "Flemmy"! Many thanks to all the delegates from the Spring Conference that entered the "Guess the Antibiotic Emoji" quiz. All entrants got full marksCongrats to who was the lucky winner to be pulled out of the
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)GREAT NEWS! Green Light Day for the and . Today we are happy give the Green Light to PI and the team at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to start recruiting participants to the .
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)BIG NEWS! Green Light Day for the and . Today we are happy to Green Light NHS Grampian and our PI to start recruiting participants to the .
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)Are you a clinician who's passionate about tackling ? If you're at the today, come and have a chat with the excellent team to discuss how you can get involved with the UK Antimicrobial Registry.
— BSAC (@BSACandJAC)Group members , Laura Moir and are in London today to represent the team at with the latest from the
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)
UK Antimicrobial Registry - pop along and say hello if you're in attendance!Indeed! For more about the UKAR, visit .
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)Great to watch of discussing the importance of the . For more information visit the UKAR Study websites at and
— UoAEpidemiology (@UoAEpi)News Updates
April 2026 News Update
UKAR Study - Expansion to include Antifungal Agent โ
As of the 14-April-2026 the UKAR has been updated as follows:
1. Removal of dalbavancin as an eligible study drug
2. Addition of antifungal agent rezafungin to the eligible study drug list
3. Inclusion of outpatient prescriptions for all eligible study drugs
December 2025 News Update
As we wrap up 2025, we just want to say a huge thank you to all our hospital sites and collaborators for keeping the UKAR study moving forward and helping us hit some fantastic milestones this year.
Here’s a snapshot of what we’ve achieved together:
- Milestone unlocked: 1,000 recruited participants, 56 participating sites in total, with 10 sites added to UKAR in 2025
- 23 sites have achieved their recruitment targets, along with 3 sites celebrating more than 100 participants!
- 2 new Gram-negative drugs added, bringing the registry to 13 eligible study drugs
- First recruitment for Eravacycline in September 2025
- A no-cost 12-month extension, meaning recruitment is now open until May 2027
Sharing the science:
- Our UKAR manuscript: an overview of the first 20 months of hospital recruitment has been accepted by JAC-AMR.
- Manuscript of data from the Virtual Registry [Scotland] has been submitted to the JAC journal.
Connecting with the community:
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UKAR Investigators’ Day held on 12 November 2025 with all stakeholders
The 2nd session recording is available via BSAC link here: Also, it was great to connect with many of you at the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC) Conferences in both spring and autumn
Team news:
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We welcomed Jonathan Lock as our new Assistant Study Coordinator in December 2025
Team photo attached — and finally, wishing everyone a happy festive season and a brilliant start to 2026. Thanks again for being part of the UKAR journey!
January 2025 Study Update - Looking back at 2024!
We thought we would have a look back over 2024 and bring you some highlights.
At the end of 2023 we had 16 sites open to participant recruitment, but by December 2024, we had added another 31 sites, taking us to 47 sites across the UK. A massive thank you to each and every one of you for helping us collect data about the effectiveness of vital antimicrobial drugs.
As to the number of participants in the study, we have gone from 101 at the beginning of January 2024, to 628 participants on 20th December 2024. That’s a fantastic achievement, so once again, thank you all so much.
And now to the numbers, our Top Ten Recruiting Centres by the end of 2024 were found in 3 of the 4 nations, with a very strong base in the English Midlands, with strong representation from Scotland and Wales:
Recruiting Centre
Number of participants
NHS Grampian
101
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
68
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
60
Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
46
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
30
Imperial College
30
Manchester University NHS Hospital Trust
29
Kettering General Hospital
24
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
20
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
19
Sites who have reached their target.
Many thanks to the team at Nottingham for reaching your recruitment target and also to those sites who have reached and exceeded their recruitment target; Aberdeen, Aneurin Bevan, Imperial College, Papworth and Portsmouth. We’re very grateful to all of you who are able to go above and beyond.
September 2024 Study Updates
Happy September everyone! I hope you all had a great summer.
Ringing the changes!
Our wonderful Study Coordinator, Laura Moir, has now left the UKAR to work on another clinical study. Laura's enthusiasm was infectious, and her experience and dedication will be sorely missed. Laura did pass on her wealth of knowledge to me and Jay during her time setting up and running the study, ensuring that the registry will continue to strive to meet the aims - understanding the effectiveness and safety of recently licensed antimicrobials used to treat real-world patients.
We are delighted to have Jisha Babu join us as Assistant Study Coordinator. Jisha has been managing the Epidemiology Group for nearly 3 years, organising us all and keeping us on track. We are looking forward to harnessing her fantastic coordination skills and her eternal optimism.
Read all about it.
The UKAR is once again in print! Please direct all interested participants and colleagues to the JAC-AMR introduction to the UKAR:
Thank you!
Thank you for your continued support of the UKAR study, your involvement is crucial in gathering data that will hopefully contribute to combating antimicrobial resistance, a global health challenge.
Please get in touch with any queries.
Rebecca, Jay and Jisha
UKAR Coordination Team
Articles
06-Aug-2024:
29-May-2024:
01-Feb-2024:
01-Jan-2024:
22-Aug-2023:
30-May-2023:
28-Apr-2023:
18-Apr-2023:
- Why is this research important?
-
Antimicrobials are a vital part of modern medicine as they stop the growth of microorganisms 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.
Microorganisms are becoming resistant to treatment with commonly used antimicrobials. 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: ).
Links to Resources about AMR / antibiotics:
- How will the research benefit patients and society?
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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 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 antimicrobials included in the study, and then at 28 days, 6 months, and 12 months afterwards. We will collect information about the infections that the antimicrobials are being used to treat, why these antimicrobials were chosen and how effective they are at treating the infection. All of the information that we collect will be analysed so that we can better understand how effective the antimicrobials are at treating infections and tackling antimicrobial resistance. Participants will not be identifiable in any of the findings published from this research.
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.
You can find out more about how we use your information /your-privacy and/or by contacting the University Data Protection Officer: dpa@abdn.ac.uk
Which drugs are included in the UKAR Study?
Antibiotic Agents
Gram Negative Gram Positive Aztreonam/avibactam Ceftaroline Cefepime/enmetazobactam Ceftobiprole Cefiderocol Delafloxacin Ceftazidime/avibactam Oritavancin Ceftolozane/tazobactam Eravacycline Imipenem/cilastatin/relebactam Meropenem/vaborbactam Dalbavancin has been discontinued as an eligible study drug as of 14-Apr-2026.
Antifungal Agents
Rezafungin
Who can take part in the study?
A patient must be 18 years old or older, and have been prescribed any of the eligible study drugs in a participating hospital.
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 many participants does a site need to recruit?
Each site will meet with the UKAR study team to agree on an achievable recruitment target prior to joining the study.
What are the requirements of my site?
- Prescriptions of any antimicrobials included in the study.
- Identify patients who are prescribed antimicrobials included in the study.
- Receive informed consent from participants.
- Have a Principal Investigator take responsibility for running the UKAR Study at site.
The UKAR Study is registered with the NIHR Associate PI scheme -
In May 2023. Fran Garraghan, member of BSAC and former UKAR Study Principal Investigator at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust recorded this video about setting up the study at site.
- Study team
-
The team responsible for delivering the study
Professor Gary Macfarlane - Co-Chief investigator
Professor Gareth Jones - Co-Chief Investigator
Dr Rebecca Parr - Study Coordinator
Ms Jisha Babu - Assistant Study Coordinator
Mr Jonathan Lock - Assistant Study Coordinator
Dr Ross Macdonald - Research Analyst
Mr Jay Woods - Project Assistant
Special thanks for the hard work of all previously involved with the UKAR study
Mrs Laura Moir - Study Coordinator
Dr Lili Xu - Data Analyst
Dr Marcus Beasley - Interim Study Coordinator
- Recruitment Centres
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A full list of our study contributors can be downloaded here: UKAR Contributor List
- Publications and Plain Language Summary
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Plain Language Summary
Publications
Conference Posters
UKAR Poster - BSAC 2026 Spring Conference (14th to 15th May)
Download Link: UKAR BSAC Spring Conference 2026 Poster
UKAR Poster - BSAC 2025 Winter Conference (27th to 28th October)
Download Link: UKAR BSAC Winter Conference 2025 Poster
UKAR Poster - BSAC 2025 Spring Conference (14th to 15th May)
Download Link: UKAR BSAC Spring Conference 2025 Poster
UKAR Poster - BSAC 2024 Winter Conference (4th to 5th December)
Download Link: UKAR BSAC Winter Conference Poster 2024
UKAR Poster - BSAC 2024 Spring Conference (16th to 17th May)
Download Link: UKARposterBSACSC_08-Apr-2024.pptx
UKAR Poster - BSAC 2023 Winter Conference (30th November to 1st December)
Download Link: UKARposterBSACWC_27-Nov-2023.pptx
- Contact details
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If you are interested to learn more about the UKAR Study, please contact the team: ukar@abdn.ac.uk