1. Untargeted molecular analysis of exhaled breath as a diagnostic test for ventilator-associated lower respiratory tract infections (BreathDx)Pouline M. van Oort, Tamara M. E. Nijsen, Iain R. White, Hugo Knobel, Timothy Felton, Nicholas J. W. Rattray, Oluwasola Lawal, Murtaza Bulut, Waqar Ahmed, Antonio Artigas, 2021, other scientific articles Abstract: Patients suspected of ventilator-associated lower respiratory tract infections (VA-LRTIs) commonly receive broad-spectrum antimicrobial therapy unnecessarily. We tested whether exhaled breath analysis can discriminate between patients suspected of VA-LRTI with confirmed infection, from patients with negative cultures. Breath from 108 patients suspected of VA-LRTI was analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The breath test had a sensitivity of 98% at a specificity of 49%, confirmed with a second analytical method. The breath test had a negative predictive value of 96% and excluded pneumonia in half of the patients with negative cultures. Trial registration number: UKCRN ID number 19086, registered May 2015. Keywords: ventilator-associated pneumonia, breath analysis, volatile organic compounds, metabolomics, intensive care, hospital acquired infections Published in RUNG: 07.09.2021; Views: 5170; Downloads: 0 This document has many files! More... |