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. 2020 Jan 24;15(1):e0226817.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0226817. eCollection 2020.

PCR for the detection of pathogens in neonatal early onset sepsis

Clarissa Oeser  1 , Marcus Pond  2 , Philip Butcher  2 , Alison Bedford Russell  3 , Philipp Henneke  4 , Ken Laing  2 , Timothy Planche  2 , Paul T Heath  1 , Kathryn Harris  5
Affiliations

PCR for the detection of pathogens in neonatal early onset sepsis

Clarissa Oeser et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: A large proportion of neonates are treated for presumed bacterial sepsis with broad spectrum antibiotics even though their blood cultures subsequently show no growth. This study aimed to investigate PCR-based methods to identify pathogens not detected by conventional culture.

Methods: Whole blood samples of 208 neonates with suspected early onset sepsis were tested using a panel of multiplexed bacterial PCRs targeting Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS), Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes (GAS), Enterobacteriaceae, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium, Ureaplasma parvum, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Mycoplasma hominis and Mycoplasma genitalium, a 16S rRNA gene broad-range PCR and a multiplexed PCR for Candida spp.

Results: Two-hundred and eight samples were processed. In five of those samples, organisms were detected by conventional culture; all of those were also identified by PCR. PCR detected bacteria in 91 (45%) of the 203 samples that did not show bacterial growth in culture. S. aureus, Enterobacteriaceae and S. pneumoniae were the most frequently detected pathogens. A higher bacterial load detected by PCR was correlated positively with the number of clinical signs at presentation.

Conclusion: Real-time PCR has the potential to be a valuable additional tool for the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Distribution of bacteria detected by specific bacterial PCR in 96 samples of neonates with suspected EOS.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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