Microbial Aerosols: New Diagnostic Specimens for Pulmonary Infections
Kevin P Fennelly1, Carlos Acuna-Villaorduna2, Edward Jones-Lopez2
1National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, Bethesda, MD.
Abstract:
Pulmonary infections are important causes of global morbidity and mortality, but diagnostics are often limited by the ability to collect specimens easily, safely, and in a cost-effective manner. We review recent advances in the collection of infectious aerosols from patients with TB and with influenza. Although this research has been focused on assessing the infectious potential of such patients, we propose that these methods have the potential to lead to the use of patient-generated microbial aerosols as noninvasive diagnostic tests of disease and tests of infectiousness.
Insights
New methods collect infectious aerosols from patients with tuberculosis (TB) and influenza. This research suggests using these patient-generated aerosols for noninvasive diagnostics and infectiousness testing, improving pulmonary infection detection.
Area of Science:
- Pulmonary Medicine
- Infectious Diseases
- Diagnostic Technology
Background:
- Pulmonary infections cause significant global morbidity and mortality.
- Current diagnostic methods are limited by specimen collection challenges (ease, safety, cost).
- Tuberculosis (TB) and influenza are key examples of pulmonary infections with diagnostic needs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent advances in collecting infectious aerosols from patients with TB and influenza.
- To propose the use of patient-generated microbial aerosols for noninvasive diagnostics.
- To explore the potential for aerosol analysis in assessing disease and infectiousness.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent research on infectious aerosol collection techniques.
- Focus on methods applicable to patients with TB and influenza.
- Exploration of the transition from infectious potential assessment to diagnostic application.
Main Results:
- Recent advances enable easier, safer, and potentially more cost-effective collection of infectious aerosols.
- The reviewed methods, initially for assessing infectiousness, show promise for diagnostic use.
- Patient-generated aerosols can be analyzed for microbial content.
Conclusions:
- Collected infectious aerosols from TB and influenza patients offer a novel diagnostic avenue.
- Noninvasive testing using patient-generated aerosols could overcome current specimen collection barriers.
- This approach has the potential to revolutionize the diagnosis and management of pulmonary infections.
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