Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Background
Fungal encephalitis is uncommon and sometimes fatal in liver transplant (LT) recipients. Early diagnosis of central nervous system (CNS) fungal infections, especially aspergillosis, is difficult based on routine tests of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) alone. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) as a new tool may help in this respect.Methods
Shotgun metagenomics was used to detect pathogens in CSF of patients, who were clinically suspected of CNS infection. Sequencing was performed at BGIseq-50 platform (BGI, Shenzhen).Results
NGS technique identified Aspergillus in CSF of 5 patients, who were suspected of CNS infection, although clinical symptoms of these patients varied dramatically. The resulting sequence reads corresponding to Aspergillus species ranged from 2 to 25, with genomic coverage ranging from 0.0003% to 0.0036%. Rapid identification of Aspergillus enabled early appropriate antifungal therapy, although 4 patients eventually died of severe infection.Conclusions
This is the first study to highlight the utility of NGS in early diagnosis of CNS aspergillosis in LT recipients. This new tool may be helpful in improving the diagnosis of CNS aspergillosis.
SUBMITTER: Chen F
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8339870 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Chen Fang F Zhao Yujing Y Shen Chuan C Han Longzhi L Chen Xiaosong X Zhang Jianjun J Xia Qiang Q Qian Yongbing Y
Annals of translational medicine 20210701 13
<h4>Background</h4>Fungal encephalitis is uncommon and sometimes fatal in liver transplant (LT) recipients. Early diagnosis of central nervous system (CNS) fungal infections, especially aspergillosis, is difficult based on routine tests of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) alone. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) as a new tool may help in this respect.<h4>Methods</h4>Shotgun metagenomics was used to detect pathogens in CSF of patients, who were clinically suspected of CNS infection. Sequencing was perfor ...[more]