Introduction: Current management of sepsis relies on the early detection and early administration of antimicrobials. This requires detection of pathogens earlier than conventional blood cultures and recognition of the immune status of the host earlier than the conventional biomarkers. This can be achieved by molecular techniques.
Areas covered: Molecular diagnosis of pathogens is based on either rapid detection of pathogens grown in blood cultures or direct use of whole blood and blood products. Molecular diagnosis of the constellation of activations and inhibitions of pathways implicated in cellular processes can be achieved by gene profiling of a large array of genes.
Expert opinion: Molecular microbial diagnosis enables rapid identification and precedes results obtained by conventional culture methods. Its role can be proved more useful in sepsis caused by specific microorganisms such as fungi performed by PMA-FISH and MALDI-TOF MS. Molecular techniques using blood aim for rapid pathogen identification. However, the provided information regarding the antimicrobial susceptibility of the pathogen is limited. Gene profiling in sepsis provides individualized information for the activation or inhibition of pathways of a variety of cellular processes. The transcriptome information is difficult to interpret in everyday clinical practice particularly on how information translates to patient needs.