Extract
A wide spectrum of diagnostic technologies and tools are used to identify the agents causing infectious diseases [1–3]. It is increasingly recognised that an improved diagnostic tool should evolve into a personalised approach, fully taking into account 1) identification of individuals at risk of developing diseases; 2) interpretation of diagnostic tests; 3) providing prognostic information; and 4) predicting and following the efficacy of therapies [4]. A new noninvasive and potentially inexpensive frontier in the diagnosis of infectious diseases relies on the detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are organic compounds that have a high vapour pressure in ordinary room-temperature conditions, from exhaled breath [5–8].
Abstract
A discussion of evidence on the link between breathprints of bacterial lung infections and the immune response http://ow.ly/DgOOb
Footnotes
Conflict of interest: None declared.
- Received October 5, 2014.
- Accepted October 9, 2014.
- Copyright ©ERS 2015