Improving diagnosis of pneumococcal disease by multiparameter testing and micro/nanotechnologies

Abstract

AbstractThe diagnosis and management of pneumococcal disease remains challenging, in particular in children who often are asymptomatic carriers, and in low-income countries with a high morbidity and mortality from febrile illnesses where the broad range of bacterial, viral and parasitic cases are in contrast to limited, diagnostic resources. Integration of multiple markers into a single, rapid test is desirable in such situations. Likewise, the development of multiparameter tests for relevant arrays of pathogens is important to avoid overtreatment of febrile syndromes with antibiotics. Miniaturization of tests through use of micro- and nanotechnologies combines several advantages: miniaturization reduces sample requirements, reduces the use of consumables and reagents leading to a reduction in costs, facilitates parallelization, enables point-of-care use of diagnostic equipment and even reduces the amount of potentially infectious disposables, characteristics that are highly desirable in most healthcare settings. This critical review emphasizes our vision on the importance of multiparametric testing for diagnosing pneumococcal infections in patients with fever and examines recent relevant developments in micro/nanotechnologies to achieve this goal.