Epidemiological Characterization of Respiratory Pathogens Using the Multiplex PCR FilmArray™ Respiratory Panel

Abstract

Abstract Background: Different pathogens can cause upper respiratory tract infections. Since infections caused by different pathogens result in similar symptoms, it is challenging to identify the pathogen based on symptoms alone. Therefore, diagnostic tests for pathogen identification are important for determining the appropriate treatment plan. Methods and Results: Samples from patients with upper respiratory tract infections collected between January 2018 and December 2022 at the Dankook University Hospital, Cheonan, South Korea, were retrospectively analyzed for pathogens, co-infection, age, and monthly incidence using the FilmArray™ Respiratory Panel (RP) method. A total of 6,367 samples were analyzed. The most common pathogen was adenovirus (18.9%), followed by influenza virus A (16.5%), parainfluenza virus type 3 (12.3%), human rhinovirus/enterovirus (10.4%), and human metapneumovirus (9.7%). These four pathogens accounted for 58.1% of all detected pathogens. Of the 1,744 pathogens, 393 overlapping infectious pathogens were identified, showing a 22.5% co-infection rate. The positivity rate was 72.3% from the age of 0 to 10 years and 44.1% from December to February. Conclusions: Traditional culture-based methods commonly used for upper respiratory tract infection diagnostics require skilled personnel and have lengthy processing times. By contrast, the FilmArray™ RP method employed in this study enabled the identification of 20 different pathogens within 2 h, including preprocessing, thus preventing treatment delays and unwarranted antibiotic prescription.