Pinning Down Pleural Effusion: Prelude to a Revolution

Dr. John Bartlett discusses the article “Systematic Use of Universal 16S rRNA Gene Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and Sequencing for Processing Pleural Effusions Improves Conventional Culture Techniques." Exciting new molecular techniques are being developed that will be able to identify the total bacteriology of almost any specimen. The microbiology lab of the future will look very different; agar plates may be obsolete. Clinicians can look forward to getting an etiologic diagnosis within hours rather than days, leading to better targeting of antibiotic treatment. See ya, seaweed!