Applications of mPCR testing reduced initial antibiotic use and duration of mechanical ventilation in virus-infected children with severe community-acquired pneumonia admitted to the PICU

Community-acquired pneumonia(CAP)remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children worldwide.It is critical for these patients to select and timely initiate appropriate empirical antimicrobial therapy against the causative pathogens[1].However,conventional pathogen-detecting methods,such as culture and serology,have no prospect of altering empiric therapy owing to their time delay in obtaining results and to their lower detection rates[2].Recent advances in molecular diagnostic assays,such as multiplex polymerase chain reaction PCR(mPCR)methods,have been used to detect multiple pathogens in CAP simultaneously within two hours and have dramatically improved the ability to diagnose respiratory pathogens[3].However,whether this molecular diagnosis method can reduce the use of antibiotics and can improve prognosis in severe CAP children,especially those less than 5 years old,remains to be explored.