Detection of Pathogens in Blood for Diagnosis of Sepsis and Beyond

I Martin Sheldon

doi:10.1016/j.ebiom.2016.06.030

Abstract

Detection of Pathogens in Blood for Diagnosis of Sepsis and Beyond

Highlights

Determining whether a patient has a microbial infection is a common clinical challenge
Diagnosis of sepsis and administration of antibiotics is vital because progression to severe sepsis or septic shock has serious consequences (Angus and van der Poll, 2013)
Developments in PCR and mass spectrometry have increased the likelihood of identifying bacteria in blood samples, but often rely on time-consuming pre-analytical processing such as blood culture in order to increase pathogen load

Summary

Introduction

Determining whether a patient has a microbial infection is a common clinical challenge. In this issue of EBioMedicine, Cartwright et al describe a rapid blood test to discriminate between patients with microbial infections and those with sterile trauma (Cartwright et al, 2016). Detecting bacterial infections in blood is a key step in the diagnosis of sepsis, and initiating treatment with antimicrobials (Deutschman and Tracey, 2014; Cohen et al, 2015).

Results

Conclusion