Metagenomic-based Pathogen Surveillance for Children with Severe Pneumonia in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Overview

Journal Front Public Health

Specialty Public Health

Date 2023 Jul 3

PMID 37397737

Authors

Meijin Li

Jing Wang

ZhongWei Yao

Hailing Liao

Shufen Su

Xuying Yang

Mingzhou Xie

Yinan Zheng

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Pneumonia is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in children. Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) has the potential to assess the landscape of pathogens responsible for severe pulmonary infection.

Methods: Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples of 262 children with suspected pulmonary infections were collected from April 2019 to October 2021 in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of Guangdong Women and Children Hospital. Both mNGS and conventional tests were utilized for pathogen detection.

Results: A total of 80 underlying pathogens were identified using both mNGS and conventional tests. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), Staphylococcus aureus and rhinovirus were the most frequently detected pathogens in this cohort. The incidence rate of co-infection was high (58.96%, 148/251), with bacterial-viral agents most co-detected. RSV was the main pathogen in children younger than 6 months of age, and was also commonly found in older pediatric patients. Rhinovirus was prevalent in children older than 6 months. Adenovirus and Mycoplasma pneumoniae were more prevalent in children older than 3 years than in other age groups. Pneumocystis jirovecii was detected in nearly 15% of children younger than 6 months. Besides, influenza virus and adenovirus were rarely found in 2020 and 2021.

Conclusions: Our study highlights the importance of using advanced diagnostic techniques like mNGS to improve our understanding of the microbial epidemiology of severe pneumonia in pediatric patients.

Citing Articles

Diagnostic value of metagenomic next-generation sequencing using bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples for pathogen detection in children with severe or refractory pneumonia.

Zhao M, Shi Y, Zhang C, Lu M, Shen M, Xie L Microbiol Spectr. 2025; 13(3):e0108724.

PMID: 39902982 PMC: 11878053. DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.01087-24.

Utilizing metagenomic next-generation sequencing for diagnosis and lung microbiome probing of pediatric pneumonia through bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in pediatric intensive care unit: results from a large real-world cohort.

Shen H, Liu T, Shen M, Zhang Y, Chen W, Chen H Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2023; 13:1200806.

PMID: 37655299 PMC: 10466250. DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1200806.

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