Background: Clostridioides difficile is a major cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea and a driver of nosocomial outbreaks, yet rapid, accurate ribotype identification remains challenging. We sought to develop a MALDI-TOF MS-based workflow coupled with machine learning to distinguish epidemic toxigenic ribotypes (RT027 and RT181) from other strains in real time.
Results: We analyzed MALDI-TOF spectra from 379 clinical isolates collected across ten Spanish hospitals and identified seven discriminant biomarker peaks.
Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis
February 2025
Purpose: Clostridioides difficile is the main cause of antibiotic related diarrhea and some ribotypes (RT), such as RT027, RT181 or RT078, are considered high risk clones. A fast and reliable approach for C. difficile ribotyping is needed for a correct clinical approach.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEarly use of infection control methods is critical for preventing the spread of antimicrobial resistance. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) is considered the gold standard for investigating outbreaks; however, the turnaround time is usually too long for clinical decision-making and the method is also costly. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and artificial intelligence tools as a first-line typing tool for typing carbapenemase-producing (CPK) in the hospital setting.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMikrochim Acta
February 2024
Salivary pH serves as a valuable and useful diagnostic marker for periodontal disease, as it not only plays a critical role in disease prevention but also in its development. Typically, saliva sampling is collected by draining and spitting it into collection tubes or using swabs. In this study, we have developed a Point-of-Care (POC) device for in situ determination of oral pH without the need for complex instruments, relying solely on a smartphone as the detection device.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis
November 2023
Hypervirulent ribotypes (HVRTs) of Clostridioides difficile such as ribotype (RT) 027 are epidemiologically important. This study evaluated whether MALDI-TOF can distinguish between strains of HVRTs and non-HVRTs commonly found in Europe. Obtained spectra of clinical C.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe goal of this study was to evaluate matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-iime of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-S) as diagnostic alternatives to DNA-based methods for the detection of sequence type (ST) 175 isolates involved in a hospital outbreak. For this purpose, 27 isolates from an outbreak detected in the Hematology department of our hospital were analyzed by the above-mentioned methodologies. Previously, these isolates had been characterized by pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and whole-genome sequencing (WGS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMALDI-TOF MS is considered to be an important tool for the future development of rapid microbiological techniques. We propose the application of MALDI-TOF MS as a dual technique for the identification of bacteria and the detection of resistance, with no extra hands-on procedures. We have developed a machine learning approach that uses the random forest algorithm for the direct prediction of carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (CPK) isolates, based on the spectra of complete cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Enterobacter cloacae complex (ECC) encompasses heterogeneous clusters of species that have been associated with nosocomial outbreaks. These species may have different acquired antimicrobial resistance and virulence mechanisms, and their identification is challenging. This study aims to develop predictive models based on matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) profiles and machine learning for species-level identification.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMycobacterium abscessus is one of the most common and pathogenic nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) isolated in clinical laboratories. It consists of three subspecies: M. abscessus subsp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVancomycin-resistant represents a health threat due to its ability to spread and cause outbreaks. MALDI-TOF MS has demonstrated its usefulness for identification, but its implementation for antimicrobial resistance detection is still under evaluation. This study assesses the repeatability of MALDI-TOF MS for peak analysis and its performance in the discrimination of vancomycin-susceptible (VSE) from vancomycin-resistant isolates (VRE).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, we evaluate the performance of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) for rapid detection of carbapenemase activity in Enterobacterales in clinical microbiology laboratories during a multicenter networking validation study. The study was divided into three different stages: "software design," "intercenter evaluation," and "clinical validation." First, a standardized procedure with an online software for data analysis was designed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClin Microbiol Infect
February 2022
J Clin Microbiol
July 2021
Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has recently been used for the direct detection of KPC-producing isolates by analysis of the 11,109 Da mass peak representing the P019 protein. In this study, we evaluate the presence of the 11,109 Da mass peak in a collection of 435 unduplicated Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical isolates. The prevalence of the P019 peak in the K.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Clin Microbiol
June 2021
The increasing emergence of carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (CPK) isolates is a global health alarm. Rapid methods that require minimum sample preparation and rapid data analysis are urgently required. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has recently been used by clinical laboratories for identification of antibiotic-resistant bacteria; however, discrepancies have arisen regarding biological and technical issues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMatrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization/time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has been widely implemented for the rapid identification of microorganisms. Although most bacteria, yeasts and filamentous fungi can be accurately identified with this method, some closely related species still represent a challenge for MALDI-TOF MS. In this study, two MALDI-TOF-based approaches were applied for discrimination at the species-level of isolates belonging to the complex, previously characterized by Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) and sequencing of the ITS1-5.
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