Liapikou A, Cillóniz C, Torres A. Emerging strategies for the noninvasive diagnosis of nosocomial pneumonia.
Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther 2019;
17:523-533. [PMID:
31237462 PMCID:
PMC7103721 DOI:
10.1080/14787210.2019.1635010]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Introduction: Hospital-acquired pneumonia is a common and therapeutically challenging diagnosis that can lead to severe sepsis, critical illness, and respiratory failure. In this review, we focus on efforts to enhance microbiological diagnosis of hospital-acquired pneumonia, including ventilator-associated pneumonia.
Areas covered: A systematic literature review was conducted by searching Medline from inception to December 2018, including hand-searching of the reference lists for additional studies. The search strategy comprised the following common search terms: hospital pneumonia OR nosocomial pneumonia OR noninvasive OR molecular diagnostic tests (OR point-of-care systems OR VOC [i.e. volatile organic compounds]) OR rapid (or simple or quick test), including brand names for the most common commercial tests.
Expert opinion: In recent years, the microbiological diagnosis of respiratory pathogens has improved significantly by the development and implementation of molecular diagnostic tests for pneumonia. Real-time polymerase chain reaction, hybridization, and mass spectrometry-based platforms dominate the scene, with microarray-based assays, multiplex polymerase chain reaction, and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry capable of detecting the determinants of antimicrobial resistance (mainly β-lactamase genes). Introducing these assays into routine clinical practice for rapid identification of the causative microbes and their resistance patterns could transform the care of pneumonia, improving antimicrobial selection, de-escalation, and stewardship.
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