“Despite the young age of the febrile infants evaluated, they carried robust RNA biosignatures and demonstrated that regardless of the etiology of the infections, their immune systems are programed to respond not only with shared elements induced by common microbes but also with specific patterns that allow discrimination by class of pathogen,” they noted.
Further research is needed to confirm and refine these preliminary results. “As technology advances, RNA biosignatures may prove to be an alternative and accurate method to identify infants with bacterial infections. This would help clinicians target evaluation and therapy when they are needed and avoid invasive procedures, antibiotics, and hospitalizations when they are not,” Dr. Mahajan and his associates said.
Dr. Herberg’s study was supported by the Imperial College Comprehensive Biomedical Research Center, the National Institutes of Health, the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program, and numerous other groups. Dr. Herberg reported having no relevant financial disclosures. Dr. Mahajan’s study was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration, Emergency Services for Children, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Mahajan reported having no relevant financial disclosures.