Defining RNA Transcriptional Biosignatures to Distinguish Febrile Infants 60 Days of Age and Younger with Bacterial vs Non-Bacterial Infections

The use of microbiological cultures for diagnosing bacterial infections in young febrile infants have substantial limitations, including false positive and false negative cultures, and non-ideal turn-around times. Analysis of host genomic expression patterns (RNA biosignatures) in response to the presence of specific pathogens, however, may provide an alternate and potentially improved diagnostic approach. This study was designed to define bacterial and non-bacterial RNA biosignatures to distinguish these infections in young febrile infants.

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Mahajan P, Kuppermann N, Mejias A, Suarez N, Chaussabel D, Casper TC, Smith B, Alpern ER, Anders J, Atabaki SM, Bennett JE, Blumberg S, Bonsu B, Borgialli D, Brayer A, Browne L, Cohen DM, Crain EF, Cruz AT, Dayan PS, Gattu R, Greenberg R, Hoyle JD Jr, Jaffe DM, Levine DA, Lillis K, Linakis JG, Muenzer J, Nigrovic LE, Powell EC, Rogers AJ, Roosevelt G, Ruddy RM, Saunders M, Tunik MG, Tzimenatos L, Vitale M, Dean JM, Ramilo O, Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN).