Photo Credit: Dr Microbe
The following is a summary of “Association of dynamics of anellovirus loads with hospital-acquired pneumonia in brain-injured patients during the intensive care unit stay,“ published in March 2024 issue of Infectious Disease by Castain et al.
Critical illness may suppress immunity, increasing hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) risks, with the Torque Teno Virus (TTV) potentially serving as an immunosuppression marker.
Researchers conducted a prospective study investigating the kinetics of TTV DNA loads and its association with critical illness-related complications.
They involved 115 brain-injured ICU patients, collecting endotracheal and blood samples at three points (T1, T2, T3) within their first two weeks of admission. The samples were then analyzed for coral DNA loads using the TTV R-gene ® kit from Biomerieux and an in-house pan-Anelloviridae qRT-PCR assay.
The results showed that TTV DNA detected in the blood was 69%, 71%, and 64% of patients at three-time points, with variations observed for both TTV and AV DNA loads. Additionally, lower blood AV DNA loads were linked to HAP and ARDS using a mixed-effects model.
Investigators concluded that lower blood AV DNA in critically ill patients might be associated with the development of HAP or ARDS, suggesting AV DNA levels as a potential biomarker for immune dysfunction leading to these complications warrant further investigation.
Source: academic.oup.com/jid/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/infdis/jiae110/7617596
