Application and evaluation of high-throughput sequencing in children with pleural effusion-related diseases

<bold>Objective:</bold> To evaluate the diagnostic value of high-throughput sequencing in the etiology of pleural effusion. <bold>Methods:</bold> Patients who were admitted to our center for pleural effusion and had undergone high-throughput sequencing of pleural effusion from March 2019 to March 2022 were collected. Based on clinical data, laboratory results, and high-throughput sequencing results, patients were divided into a superior group and an inferior group to evaluate the diagnostic value of high-throughput sequencing of pleural effusion for different etiologies. <bold>Results:</bold> A total of 48 children were included in this study, and it was found that the accuracy of high-throughput sequencing results (n=20/32) in bacterial infections was higher than traditional detection methods (n=5/32), while the accuracy of high-throughput sequencing in detecting mycoplasma infections (n=4/9 vs n=7/9), viral infections (n=1/2 vs n=2/2), tuberculosis infections (n=0 vs n=5/5), and fungal infections (n=0 vs n=1/1) were lower than traditional detection methods. A total of 25 cases were included in the advantage group, including 19 cases of bacterial infection, 2 cases of mycoplasma infection, 2 cases of non-infectious disease, 1 case of mixed bacterial and mycoplasma infection, and 1 case of mixed mycoplasma and adenovirus infection. <bold>Conclusion:</bold> High-throughput sequencing of pleural effusion has advantages in identifying bacterial infections and non-infectious diseases that cause pleural effusion. However, when considering the causes of pleural effusion such as mycoplasma, viruses, fungi, and tuberculosis infection, high-throughput sequencing of pleural effusion requires more caution.