Precision Diagnostics in Clinical Microbiology and Virology

Dear Colleagues,

Diagnostic microbiology and virology are undergoing a rapid transformation. The shift from culture-based, one-size-fits-all workflows toward rapid, high-resolution methods—syndromic multiplex PCR, point-of-care molecular testing, next-generation sequencing and metagenomics, and proteomic identification by MALDI-TOF—is reshaping how infections are detected, characterized and managed. Yet the clinical value of these technologies cannot be assessed in isolation: it depends critically on where they are applied. A multiplex respiratory panel deployed in a crowded emergency department, a rapid blood-culture identification assay in the intensive care unit, a point-of-care test in a community health setting, and whole-genome sequencing within a hospital outbreak investigation each carry distinct demands in terms of turnaround time, cost-effectiveness, interpretation and clinical impact.

This Special Issue aims to bring together original research and reviews that examine the real-world clinical utility of advanced diagnostic methods across the full range of care settings, with a particular emphasis on their integration with infection prevention and control. We welcome contributions that move beyond analytical performance to address the downstream questions that matter at the bedside and for public health: Does the method change patient management? Does it support antimicrobial stewardship? Does it strengthen surveillance and the control of healthcare-associated infections?

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Syndromic multiplex PCR panels (respiratory, meningitis/encephalitis, gastrointestinal, bloodstream) and their clinical and economic impact across settings;
• Point-of-care and near-patient molecular testing in emergency, ambulatory and community/territorial settings;
• Rapid pathogen identification and resistance detection in sepsis and bloodstream infections;
• Next-generation sequencing, whole-genome sequencing and metagenomics for diagnosis, resistome characterization and outbreak investigation;
• MALDI-TOF and complementary proteomic approaches within the diagnostic workflow;
• Molecular detection of antimicrobial and antiviral resistance determinants to guide targeted therapy and stewardship;
• Diagnostics in immunocompromised, transplant and critically ill patients;
• Integration of advanced diagnostics with infection prevention and control programs and surveillance of healthcare-associated infections;
• Implementation studies, cost-effectiveness analyses and diagnostic stewardship across different clinical settings.

We encourage submissions that connect diagnostic innovation to measurable clinical, economic and infection-control outcomes, providing evidence to guide the rational deployment of these technologies where they deliver the greatest benefit.

Dr. Francesco Broccolo
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diagnostics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• syndromic testing
• multiplex PCR
• point-of-care testing (POCT)
• rapid molecular diagnostics
• diagnostic stewardship
• antimicrobial stewardship
• near-patient testing
• infectious disease diagnostics
• clinical microbiology
• precision diagnostics
• sepsis diagnosis
• respiratory infections
• antimicrobial resistance
• molecular epidemiology