Are postal sputum samples a valid tool for clinical and research applications in bronchiectasis?

Résumé fourni par la source

Background: Postal sputum sampling represents a potential strategy for near-patient, efficient, and regular sampling, yet little is known about the validity for clinical and research purposes in bronchiectasis. This study aimed to explore the validity of postal sputum sampling. Methods: Sputum was collected from inpatients with P. aeruginosa infection and aliquoted, with half analysed immediately and half sent by post before analyses. Analyses included cultured load, antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST), qPCR, 16S microbiome sequencing, metabolomics, and proteomics. Results: 48 samples were collected from 12 participants. Postal samples were analysed a median of 4 days (range, 2-7) after sample collection. 8/12 participants were culture-positive for P. aeruginosa, with 100% agreement between fresh and posted samples. Postage did not affect cultured (p=0.81) or amplified load of P. aeruginosa (p=0.94). No differences were observed in AST profiles across 140 isolates for P. aeruginosa cultured from fresh or posted samples. Metabolomics and proteomics revealed that variation between individuals was significantly greater than between fresh and posted samples. No significant differences in sequenced 16S microbiome were observed. Discussion: We found little evidence of an effect of postage across a range of clinical and research applications. These data suggest postal sputum samples may be a valuable tool for investigation and management of P. aeruginosa lung infection.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.