Application of High-Throughput Sequencing Technology in Identifying the Pathogens in Endophthalmitis

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Microbiology
• Genomics

Background:

• Infectious endophthalmitis is a significant global cause of vision loss, often arising post-intraocular surgery.
• Early identification of causative microbial flora (bacteria, fungi) is critical for effective prevention and treatment.
• Current diagnostic methods include Gram staining, culture-based techniques, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the evolution of microbial detection and identification methods for endophthalmitis.
• To assess the application of first, second, and third-generation sequencing technologies in infectious endophthalmitis.
• To understand the current research status of microbial flora in endophthalmitis.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of diagnostic methods for endophthalmitis.
• Analysis of sequencing technologies (1st, 2nd, 3rd gen) in infectious endophthalmitis research.
• Evaluation of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) for microbial identification.

Main Results:

• Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) enhances microorganism detection rates by 20% in intraocular samples, with high diagnostic yield in culture-negative cases.
• High-throughput sequencing (HTS) provides advantages for identifying slow-growing or rare microorganisms.
• HTS demonstrates potential for identifying pathogens in culture-negative endophthalmitis, improving diagnostic accuracy.

Conclusions:

• HTS is a promising platform for identifying pathogenic bacteria in infectious endophthalmitis.
• Advanced sequencing technologies offer improved diagnostic capabilities for endophthalmitis.
• HTS application may transform clinical microbiology and the epidemiology of ocular infections.