Chronic polymicrobial infections represent diagnostic challenges for both molecular and culture methods. Chronic wounds, inducing chronic pain and reducing the mobility of individuals, have a notable effect on the quality of life. At any given time, 1% of the population is usually affected and, therefore, multiple treatments are also required. Identification of the etiology of such infections facilitates the appropriate treatment. In this study, 20 wound samples were collected from 20 patients with suspected wound infection. The panel of the current assay targets 12 clinically relevant aerobic pathogens, commonly associated with chronic wound infection. Microbial wound infections were detected by both usual polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and subsequently testing using the DNA chip. In the current study, the results of culture-free bacterial identification using the two methods of DNA analyses were compared. By molecular detection using PCR, seven different bacterial species were identified: Citrobacter spp. (100%), Enterobacter spp. (100%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (100%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (90%), Proteus spp. (80%), Escherichia coli (60%), and Staphylococcus aureus (10%). Mixed microbial infections were detected in all samples indicating four, five, or six different bacteria, identified in each sample. Microarray detection in comparison to PCR indicated 100% matching. These results demonstrate the possibility of fast identification of wound infection pathogens even in a mixed culture in a very short time, which in turn facilitates the proceeding steps for proper treatment.
Key words: Wound infection-Mixed infection-Microbial diversity-PCR-Microarrays
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