Lipidomic signatures of ventilator-associated pneumonia in COVID-19 ARDS patients: a new frontier for diagnostic biomarkers
Authors' conclusion
We investigated VAP-specific lipids in tracheal aspirate and identified significant alterations in lipidomic profiles, likely driven by active infection dynamic and the breakdown of surfactant and pulmonary cells.
Study context
- Population
- Mechanically ventilated patients with COVID-19-related ARDS
- Participants
- 39 participants
- Comparison
- Tracheal aspirate lipidome in ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) vs matched controls without VAP
- VAPn = 26
- Controln = 13reference
- Outcome
- Lipid alterations specific to VAP in tracheal aspirates
- Follow-up
- Day of VAP diagnosis
Methodological detailslipidomics, matched controls, longitudinal sampling
- Lipidomics
- Matched controls
- Longitudinal sampling
Performance
As reported in the abstract
VAP lipid signature (272 lipids)
Phosphatidylcholines most represented: significantly upregulated lipids
17
Phosphatidylcholines significantly downregulated lipids
6
Orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) best candidates as VAP biomarkers
8
Further findings
| Outcome | Sphingomyelin (34:1) | Phosphatidylcholine (O-34:1) |
|---|---|---|
| Diagnostic performance of best lipid biomarkers | ||
| AUROC | 0.85 [0.71-0.95] | 0.83 [0.66-0.94] |
Diagnostic performance of best lipid biomarkers
- Combinations of several lipid biomarkers did not improve prediction accuracy
Patient characteristics incl. neutrophils, CRP, PCT
- Similar in VAP and control patients
Original publication
Lipidomic signatures of ventilator-associated pneumonia in COVID-19 ARDS patients: a new frontier for diagnostic biomarkers. Ann Intensive Care. Published 5 June 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →