'Breath test' shows promise for diagnosing fungal pneumonia
Friday, October 24, 2014 - 05:01
in Health & Medicine
Many different microbes can cause pneumonia, and treatment may be delayed or off target if doctors cannot tell which bug is the culprit. A novel approach -- analyzing a patient's breath for key chemical compounds made by the infecting microbe -- may help detect invasive aspergillosis, a fungal infection that is a leading cause of mortality in patients with compromised immune systems, according to a proof-of-concept study.