Exhaled breath analysis for the diagnosis of pneumonia

Ventilator associated-lower respiratory tract infections (VA-LRTI) represent the most common complication of mechanical ventilation. Current diagnostics are time-consuming, making a prompt and accurate diagnosis challenging. Exhaled breath may contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that derive from pathophysiological processes, either from pathogens or from the host in response to infection. The promising new field of exhaled breath metabolomics may provide new perspectives for the diagnosis of VA-LRTI.
The primary aim of this thesis was to study the diagnostic value of exhaled breath analysis for VA-LRTI. Not only did we aim to examine the ability of breathomics to differentiate between pneumonia patients and patients with negative cultures, also the potential to distinguish between different causative pathogens was investigated.