Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42239757›Full record

ArticleResearch square2026

Enhanced detection of sepsis pathogens in hospitalized febrile neutropenia patients using blood culture broths with TaqMan array card.

Furqan Kabir, Hammad Afzal Kayani, Dur E Shahwar, Rufei Ma, Sara Iqbal, Akram Hussain, Jawaid Hussain, Adil Kalam, Fatima Aziz, Sehrish Munir and 6 more

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In one paragraph

Article in Research square, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors.

Furqan KabirDepartment of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Hammad Afzal KayaniDepartment of Biosciences, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology, Karachi, Pakistan.
Dur E ShahwarDepartment of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Rufei MaSchool of Public Health, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China.
Sara IqbalDepartment of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Akram HussainDepartment of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Jawaid HussainDepartment of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Adil KalamDepartment of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Fatima AzizDepartment of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Sehrish MunirDepartment of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Farrukh QaziDepartment of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Jie LiuSchool of Public Health, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China.
Eric HouptDivision of Infectious Diseases and International Health, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville (VA), USA.
Erum KhanDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Junaid IqbalDepartment of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Asad AliDepartment of Community Health Sciences, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.

Funding

Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Enteric Health and Malnutrition in Pakistan (PIDEMP) Research Training ProgramD43TW007585 · FIC · AGA KHAN UNIVERSITY (PAKISTAN) · PI ALI, SYED ASAD, MOORE, SEAN RYAN · 2006 to 2024
$3.7M
FIC NIH HHS D43 TW007585
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: In resource-limited settings, febrile neutropenia (FN) is one of the common cause of morbidity and mortality among immunocompromised individuals particularly those undergoing chemotherapy for malignancies. The clinical diagnosis and management of disease is challenging, due to the diverse range of causative pathogens and overreliance on the traditional diagnostic techniques. TaqMan array card (TAC), a microfluidics-based technique that allows simultaneous and rapid detection of multiple pathogens with high sensitivity, addressing these diagnostic needs. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the role of TAC in improving pathogen identification in hospitalized patients with FN. Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled 156 FN patients admitted to Aga Khan University and Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. To enhance pathogen detection, blood culture broths were used for microbial enrichment, improving sensitivity and reliability. Both blood cultures and TAC assays were performed on the collected broths. Enrichment strategies were employed to reduce the impact of PCR inhibitors and increase microbial biomass, thereby enhancing the diagnostic sensitivity of TAC. Results: TAC identified a diverse range of pathogens compared with traditional blood culture. Of 156 study participants, 61 (39.1 %) were culture-positive and at least one pathogen was detected in 50 of the 146 samples by TAC assay. The common pathogen detected by TAC was Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that TAC improves pathogen detection with high sensitivity in FN patients. Incorporating TAC into clinical settings may facilitate early pathogen identification leading to better clinical outcomes. Multicenter studies are needed to validate these results and assess the effectiveness of TAC in broader clinical settings.

Indexed as

febrile neutropeniainfectious diseasemolecular diagnosticsTaqMan array card

Identifiers

PMID42239757
PMCPMC13228860

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