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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Med.

Sec. Infectious Diseases: Pathogenesis and Therapy

Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1613077

Plasma ddPCR for etiological diagnosis of focal bacterial infections

Provisionally accepted
Yongfeng ZhangYongfeng Zhang1Shanshan WengShanshan Weng2,3,4Xueqing MaXueqing Ma2,3,4Ling LinLing Lin2,3,4,5Yueliang ChenYueliang Chen6Binbin FengBinbin Feng6Jiang XiaJiang Xia7Jiayuan YeJiayuan Ye8Hua ZhouHua Zhou9*Yunsong YuYunsong Yu2,3,4*Dongdong ZhaoDongdong Zhao1,2,3,4*
  • 1Department of Infectious Diseases, Jiangshan People's Hospital, quzhou, China
  • 2Department of Infectious Diseases, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Hangzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
  • 3Key laboratory of Microorganism Technology and Bioinformatics Research of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
  • 4Regional Medical Center for National Institute of Respiratory Diseases, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, hangzhou, China
  • 5Zhejiang Taizhou Hospital, Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, China
  • 6Department of Critical Care Medicine, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
  • 7Pilot Gene Technologies (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd, Hangzhou, China
  • 8Department of Infectious Diseases, Shangyu People's Hospital Of Shaoxing, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, China
  • 9Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Jiangsu Province, China

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Background: Plasma droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) has been used for pathogen detection and has shown good diagnostic value, but no studies have yet demonstrated its application in focal infections. Herein a pilot study using plasma ddPCR to diagnose focal infection is discussed. Methods: Eight patients with a diagnosed focal infection who underwent plasma ddPCR for bacterial detection between 2021-2022 in Sir Run Run Shaw hospital were enrolled in this retrospective single-center pilot study. Results of ddPCR and focal cultures were compared as well as the turnaround time of two methods and other clinical data. Results: In 7/8 cases, plasma ddPCR results were consistent with focal culture results. The turnaround time for ddPCR was 2.5 hours, significantly lower than the average time for focal cultures of 2.63 days. Conclusions: This pilot study indicates the promising value of the plasma ddPCR method in the rapid diagnosis of focal infection. If larger studies support the findings here, this method can help improve diagnostic accuracy and guide treatment decisions in suspected focal infections.

Keywords: Focal infection1, droplet digital PCR2, Molecular diagnosis3, Blood samples4, Focal culture5

Received: 16 Apr 2025; Accepted: 08 Jul 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Weng, Ma, Lin, Chen, Feng, Xia, Ye, Zhou, Yu and Zhao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Hua Zhou, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
Yunsong Yu, Department of Infectious Diseases, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Hangzhou, 310016, Jiangsu Province, China
Dongdong Zhao, Department of Infectious Diseases, Jiangshan People's Hospital, quzhou, China

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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