Patent ID: 7717857

Claim:
A method for diagnosing a presence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the lungs of a subject, including the steps of: (a) administering an effective amount of at least one isotopically labeled active agent selected from the group consisting of a nitrate salt, a nitrite salt, nitric oxide (NO), a nitric oxide precursor compound, urea and glycine or their pharmaceutically acceptable salts to the subject, said active agent being acted upon by P. aeruginosa to form an isotopically labeled cleavage product or metabolite; and (b) collecting breath, urine, whole blood, plasma or serum samples from the subject; and (c) analyzing said samples to determine a concentration or concentrations of said cleavage product(s) or metabolite(s), said concentration(s) indicating the presence or absence of P. aeruginosa including optionally, a presence or absence of mucoid phenotype P. aeruginosa , in the lungs of said patient.