Research Brief: Nature Medicine
Researchers publishing in Nature Medicine say they have identified “robust” respiratory microbiome signatures associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) that “may help to identify promising targets for microbiome therapeutic modulation in critically ill patients.”1
The aim of the study was to better understand respiratory microbial dysbiosis related to ARDS and HAP, because currently researchers lack “reproducible respiratory microbiome signatures that can increase our understanding of these conditions and potential treatments”, they wrote.1
Scientists analyzed rRNA sequencing data from over a thousand critically ill patients (21.7% with ARDS and 26.3% with HAP) and used machine learning models to identify clinical markers that predicted ARDS, HAP, and prolonged mechanical ventilation.1
To read the study, visit www.nature.com
- Montassier E, et al. Robust airway microbiome signatures in acute respiratory failure and hospital-acquired pneumonia. Nat Med 29, 2793–2804 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02617-9
