ArticleFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology2025
Comparison of microbial culture, metagenomic next-generation sequencing and droplet digital polymerase chain reaction methods for pathogen detection in patients with neurosurgical central nervous system infection.
Article in Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- A successful individualized comprehensive therapy for carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae induced multifocal brain abscesses: a case report and literature review.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Review
- Metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing for Brain Abscess: Improved Pathogen Detection, Targeted Antimicrobial Therapy, and Association with Fewer Surgical Interventions.Infection and drug resistance · 2026Article
- Case Report: Beyond conventional diagnostics: mNGS support in a complex immunocompromised patient diagnosis.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
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10 authors.
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Abstract
Background: Neurosurgical central nervous system infections (NCNSIs) are one of the most common complications in neurosurgical patients, followed by neurosurgery itself, trauma, implants or infection need to be treated by surgery. However, the diagnosis of NCNSIs continues to pose a significant challenge. The primary objective of this study was to comprehensively assess the diagnostic performance of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) and Multiplex Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR) in elucidating the microbiological etiologies underlying NCNSIs in affected patients. Methods: Data on 127 enrolled NCNSIs patients were collected from Emergency Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit at Qilu Hospital of Shandong University from June 2022 to October 2024. The clinical record, cerebrospinal fluid or pus routine, biochemical tests, microbial smear and culture, mNGS and ddPCR results, time to positive culture(TTPC), time from sample harvesting to final positive results (THTR) obtained by the physician, turn-around time for mNGS and ddPCR, and follow-up data were collected and analyzed. Results: A total of 127 patients were enrolled in this study. In comparison to the positive rate achieved by traditional culture method (59.1%) in diagnosing NCNSIs, the overall pathogen detection rates of mNGS and ddPCR were markedly elevated (86.6%, Conclusion: mNGS and ddPCR hold the potential to substantially augment the diagnostic efficacy for NCNSIs patients. It is advisable that, in future clinical practice, mNGS and ddPCR be more extensively employed for the early and precise identification of pathogens in NCNSIs patients.
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