P233 Wanted: Pseudomonas and Staphylococcus - new diagnostic approaches in cystic fibrosis! Is 16S rRNA gene sequencing an equivalent diagnostic tool to conventional microbiology?

Colonization of the respiratory tract with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) or Staphylococcus aureus (SA) causes progressive health decline in people with Cystic Fibrosis (pwCF). Therefore, it is of enormous interest to detect those pathogens rapidly and reliably. Here, we evaluate whether 16S rRNA gene sequencing (16S) can compete conventional microbiology (CM) in detecting Pseudomonas and Staphylococcus in respiratory samples.