mNGS in Spinal infection

Spinal infections (SI) are primarily caused by bacteria, fungi, and other pathogens that invade the spinal bone and soft tissue via the blood circulation or direct attack. SI can be divided into pyogenic infections (caused by bacteria) and granulomatous infections (caused by fungi, parasites, etc.), with significant differences in antibiotic selection and treatment strategies. Therefore, the rapid and accurate identification of pathogens is essential for the treatment of SI.Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS), an emerging molecular diagnostic method, allows for direct pathogen detection from biological samples without prior assumptions or reliance on traditional cultures. It can be used to simultaneously analyze thousands of DNA fragments, enabling the comprehensive detection of pathogens, such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites. Therefore, this study aimed to comprehensively evaluate the diagnostic performance and clinical application of mNGS for the detection of SI pathogens.This is expected to provide clinicians with a more accurate, rapid, and comprehensive diagnostic tool to improve the treatment and management of patients with SI.

脊柱感染（Spinal infections, SI）主要由细菌、真菌及其他病原体引发，此类病原体可通过血液循环或直接侵袭途径侵入脊柱骨与软组织。脊柱感染可分为化脓性感染（由细菌引发）与肉芽肿性感染（由真菌、寄生虫等引发）两类，二者在抗生素选择与治疗策略上存在显著差异。因此，快速且精准的病原体鉴定对于脊柱感染的治疗至关重要。宏基因组二代测序（Metagenomic next-generation sequencing, mNGS）作为一种新兴的分子诊断技术，无需预先设定假设或依赖传统培养，即可直接从生物样本中检测病原体。该技术可同时分析数千条DNA片段，实现对细菌、真菌、病毒及寄生虫等各类病原体的全面检测。因此，本研究旨在全面评估宏基因组二代测序在脊柱感染病原体检测中的诊断效能与临床应用价值。本研究预期可为临床医师提供更为精准、快速且全面的诊断工具，从而改善脊柱感染患者的治疗与管理效果。