Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42321936›Full record

ArticleGenome medicine2026

Microbial cell-free DNA for rapid pathogen identification in clinical diagnostics: a proof of concept study.

Micha Banz, Stefan Hagel, Sebastian Freiburger, Frederik Huhn, Merlin Krause, Stefan Glöckner, Bettina Löffler, Dennis Nurjadi, Uthayakumar Muthukumarasamy, Mateusz Jundzill and 3 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Genome medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Micha BanzInstitute for Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany. micha.banz@med.uni-jena.de.ORCID 0000-0001-8813-5388
Stefan HagelInstitute for Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
Sebastian FreiburgerDepartment of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany.
Frederik HuhnInstitute for Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
Merlin KrauseInstitute for Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
Stefan GlöcknerInstitute of Medical Microbiology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
Bettina LöfflerInstitute of Medical Microbiology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
Dennis NurjadiInstitute of Medical Microbiology, University of Lübeck and University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Lübeck, Germany.
Uthayakumar MuthukumarasamyInstitute of Medical Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene, Medical Facultyof the Otto Von Guericke, University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.
Mateusz JundzillInstitute for Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
Achim J KaaschInstitute of Medical Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene, Medical Facultyof the Otto Von Guericke, University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.
Mathias W PletzInstitute for Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
Christian BrandtInstitute for Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Microbial cell-free DNA (mcfDNA) enables rapid and sensitive pathogen detection via direct plasma-sequencing. Here, we present a fast, cost-effective mcfDNA multiplex workflow to complement or improve the sensitivity of microbiological diagnostics for systemic and focal infections which can be challenged by prior antibiotic treatment or non-culturable pathogens. In an explorative study of 18 patients, mcfDNA sequencing matched the clinical diagnosis in 16 cases (89%), was detected up to 16 days after starting targeted antibiotic therapy and identified Staphylococcus aureus in two cases of culture-negative endocarditis. By providing an open-access protocol, we aim to promote broader accessibility and globally available application.

Indexed as

Cell-Free Nucleic AcidsDNA, BacterialMolecular Diagnostic TechniquesHumansProof of Concept StudySequence Analysis, DNAStaphylococcus aureusCell-Free Nucleic AcidsDNA, BacterialCulture independent diagnosticsInfectious disease diagnosticsMicrobial cell-free DNAMultiplex sequencingOxford Nanopore sequencing

Identifiers

PMID42321936
PMCPMC13281617

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.