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Published on: February 23, 2014
Clinical characteristics of pathogens in children with community-acquired pneumonia were analyzed via targeted
Junhua Zhao1, Mingfeng Xu1, Zheng Tian1
1Pediatrics Department, Xiantao Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, Xiantao, China.
Insights
Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children involves complex pathogens, often co-infecting. Targeted next-generation sequencing (tNGS) offers superior pathogen detection compared to standard methods, aiding accurate diagnosis and treatment.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Pediatrics
- Genomics
Background:
- Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a significant pediatric respiratory illness.
- Understanding the etiological agents of CAP is crucial for effective treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To detect pathogen species in pediatric CAP using targeted next-generation sequencing (tNGS).
- To investigate the characteristics of CAP-related pathogens in children in Xiantao city, China.
Main Methods:
- Prospective recruitment of 1,527 children with CAP.
- Pathogen detection via standard methods and tNGS.
- Analysis of pathogen types, co-infections, and relation to age and gender.
Main Results:
- tNGS demonstrated a higher positive detection rate (97.05%) than standard methods (61.95%).
- Bacteria, viruses, and Mycoplasma were identified as common CAP pathogens.
- Co-infections were prevalent, with two or three pathogens found in over 50% of cases.
- Top pathogens included *Haemophilus influenzae*, *Acinetobacter baumannii*, *Streptococcus pneumoniae*, HHV-5, and *Mycoplasma pneumoniae*.
- Pathogen prevalence correlated with child's age.
Conclusions:
- Pediatric CAP involves complex and frequently co-existing pathogens.
- tNGS significantly improves pathogen identification accuracy over standard methods.
- Accurate and timely diagnosis via advanced sequencing is vital for optimal CAP treatment outcomes.
Background:
The primary purpose of this study was to detect the pathogen species using targeted next-generation sequencing (tNGS) to investigate the characteristics of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP)-related pathogens in children in Xiantao city, Hubei province, China.
Methods:
A total of 1,527 children with CAP were prospectively recruited from our hospital between May 2022 and February 2023. Information on age and sex was collected from the medical records. Pathogen detection was performed using standard detection methods and tNGS.
Results:
The positive coincidence rate of standard detection methods and tNGS were 61.95% (946/1,527) and 97.05% (1,482/1,527), respectively. Among the 1,482 children with CAP, the numbers of bacteria, virus, chlamydia, and mycoplasma infection were 1,188, 975, 321, and 1, respectively. Co-existing species showed high prevalence in CAP, and the prevalence of children infected with only one pathogen was 20.31%. The numbers of children infected with two and three pathogens were the highest, accounting for 29.22% and 25.17%, respectively. Among the 44 pathogens detected using tNGS, 17 species of bacteria, 25 species of viruses, one species of chlamydia, and one species of mycoplasma were documented. Among all infectious pathogens, the top five were Haemophilus influenzae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Streptococcus pneumoniae, human herpes virus type 5 (HHV-5), and Mycoplasma pneumoniae. The results showed that pathogenic infections in children with CAP were related to age but not to gender.
Conclusion:
The infection pathogens in children with CAP were complex and the incidence of co-existence was observed to be high. The pathogens involved in CAP were closely related to the age of the child. In addition, tNGS was shown to better identify pathogens than the standard detection method, which is crucial for improving the accuracy of early CAP diagnosis and initiating appropriate treatment in a timely manner, ultimately enhancing treatment outcomes.
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