Clinical assessment of the utility of metagenomic next‐generation sequencing in pediatric patients of hematology department.

Introduction: Metagenomic Next‐Generation Sequencing (mNGS) is an emerging technique for microbial identification and diagnosis of infectious diseases. The clinical utility of mNGS, especially its real‐world impact on antimicrobial treatment and patient outcome has not been systematically evaluated. Methods: We prospectively assessed the effectiveness of mNGS in 70 febrile inpatients with suspected infections at Hematology department of the Children's Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health. 69/70 patients were given empirical antibiotics prior to mNGS. A total of 104 samples (62 plasma, 34 throat swabs, 4 bone marrow, 4 bronchoalveolar lavage) were collected on day 1‐28 (mean 6.9) following symptom onset and underwent mNGS testing. Results: Traditional microbiological tests discovered causal microorganisms in 5/70 (7.14%) patients, which were also detected by mNGS. In addition, mNGS reported possible pathogens when routine tests were negative. Antibiotics were adjusted accordingly in 55/70 (78.6%) patients that led to improvement/relief of symptoms within 3 days. In contrast, mNGS results were considered irrelevant in 15/70 (21.4%) patients by a board of clinicians, based on biochemical, serological, imaging evidence, and experiences. Conclusion: mNGS expanded the capacity of pathogen detection and made a positive impact on clinical management of suspected infections through (a) differential diagnosis which may rule out infectious diseases and (b) adjustment or de‐escalation of empirical antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]