Could the Sputum Microbiota Be a Biomarker That Predicts Mortality after Acute Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease?

• Published in: American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine Vol. 199; no. 10; pp. 1175 - 1176
• Main Authors: Tsay, Jun-Chieh J, Segal, Leopoldo N
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Thoracic Society 15.05.2019
• Subjects: Bacterial infections; Biomarkers; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Hospitalization; Humans; Microbiota; Mortality; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive; Sputum; New York
• ISSN: 1073-449X; 1535-4970
• DOI: 10.1164/rccm.201811-2138ED

In this issue of the Journal, Leitao Filho and colleagues (pp. 1205-1213) used sputum samples obtained at the time of hospital admission for AECOPD in 102 subjects to examine for associations between sputum microbiota and 1-year follow-up mortality (11). [...]as the authors have acknowledged, many possible confounders were difficult to be fully assessed. [...]unlike gut microbiome studies, airway microbiome studies have been small and frequently limited to few centers, even when noninvasive samples, such as sputum, are used. [...]for the most part, the clinical validity is limited by the single discovery cohort design (such as the one described in this study) and the lack of validation. [...]as promising biomarkers arise, we need effective strategies to test whether the use of microbiome data can affect clinical outcomes. [...]the current study is an important initial step in biomarker discovery.