Indwelling Device-Associated Biofilms in Critically Ill Cancer Patients-Study Protocol

Area of Science:

• Critical care medicine
• Infectious diseases
• Molecular biology

Background:

• Health care-associated infections are a significant cause of inpatient complications, particularly in sepsis management.
• Current methods for microorganism identification, primarily bacterial culture, have limitations in speed and accuracy.
• Rapid and precise pathogen detection is crucial for effective sepsis treatment and improved patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess biofilm-associated pathogens in septic critically ill cancer patients.
• To compare standard microbiological methods with next-generation sequencing (NGS) for pathogen identification.
• To evaluate the clinical value and potential impact of NGS on patient management and outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Prospective, observational, single-center study design.
• Collection of indwelling device samples (catheters, tubes) from septic patients.
• Simultaneous collection of clinical data on pathogen colonization at multiple body sites (nasal, pharyngeal, rectal, skin).
• Utilized both standard microbiological methods and next-generation sequencing (NGS) for pathogen detection and identification.

Main Results:

• The study provides insights into biofilm-associated infections in a specific patient cohort.
• Identified catheter-specific and patient-specific biofilm-associated pathogens.
• Evaluated the correlation between pathogen colonization extent and infection severity.
• Retrospectively assessed the clinical utility of NGS in diagnosing sepsis and guiding treatment.

Conclusions:

• Next-generation sequencing (NGS) offers a valuable tool for rapid and comprehensive pathogen identification in complex cases of sepsis.
• NGS has the potential to significantly improve etiological diagnosis, patient management, and outcomes, especially in cases with unclear sepsis sources or treatment resistance.
• Further research can leverage NGS to refine sepsis diagnostics and therapeutic strategies.