Journal
THORAX
Volume 77, Issue 1, Pages 79-81Publisher
BMJ PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2021-217362
Keywords
pneumonia; assisted ventilation; critical care
Categories
Funding
- European Union FP7 Marie Curie Actions, under the Industry--Academia Partnerships and Pathways (IAPP) programme [MC--IAPP BreathDx 611951]
- NIHR Manchester Biochemical Research Centre
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The study found that exhaled breath analysis can effectively distinguish patients suspected of ventilator-associated lower respiratory tract infections, with high sensitivity and negative predictive value.
Patients suspected of ventilator-associated lower respiratory tract infections (VA-LRTIs) commonly receive broad-spectrum antimicrobial therapy unnecessarily. We tested whether exhaled breath analysis can discriminate between patients suspected of VA-LRTI with confirmed infection, from patients with negative cultures. Breath from 108 patients suspected of VA-LRTI was analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The breath test had a sensitivity of 98% at a specificity of 49%, confirmed with a second analytical method. The breath test had a negative predictive value of 96% and excluded pneumonia in half of the patients with negative cultures. Trial registration number: UKCRN ID number 19086, registered May 2015.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available