U.S., Chinese universities to partner in diagnosing ventilator-associated pneumonia

The University of Michigan Medical School plans to partner with Peking University Health Science Center in diagnosing ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in critical care patients by using a portable DNA sequencer.

The palm-sized nanopore sequencer developed by the UM is called MinION. It is about two-thirds the size of a chalkboard eraser and has been field-tested around the world.

The researchers plan to sequence samples collected from the lungs of about 200 patients on ventilators across both sites.

Results from the genetic sequence testing will be checked against culture tests from the same patients to compare speed and accuracy in order to inform protocols for the sequencing method. The sequencing approach may not only inform clinicians regarding which bacteria are present, but also how to treat them.

Prior studies took about nine hours from specimen collection to completed analysis. Through process improvements, researchers believe they can cut that time in half.

VAP occurs in 10 to 40 percent of patients who remain on mechanical ventilation longer than two days, with individual risk increasing with each day a patient remains on the ventilator. VAP is also difficult to diagnose at the bedside.

A primary method of diagnosis is to sample the patient’s lung using bacterial culture, a process that typically takes between 24 and 72 hours.