{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]],"date-time":"2026-07-08T01:47:13Z","timestamp":1783475233321,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,25]],"date-time":"2025-08-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1756080000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"the National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan","award":["NSTC 111-2116-M-194-010"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NSTC 111-2116-M-194-010"]}]},{"name":"Hualien Tzu-Chi General Hospital, Dalin Tzu-Chi Hospital, and Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chiayi Christian Hospital-National Chung Cheng University Joint Research Program","award":["CYCH-CCU-2022-10"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CYCH-CCU-2022-10"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Microorganisms"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The rapid evolution of ventilators and their circuits, coupled with varying maximum usage durations set by different hospitals globally, poses a significant risk for the proliferation and transmission of nosocomial infections in intensive care settings. This study investigated temporal changes in bacterial community structure and predicted metabolic functions in ventilator circuits over a three-week period, with a specific focus on ESKAPE pathogens. The results of full-length 16S rRNA sequencing revealed dynamic shifts in bacterial communities, with an increased bacterial diversity and unique species prevalence in week-2 compared to week-1 and week-3. However, a marked emergence of pathogenic bacteria, including Serratia marcescens and Chryseobacterium indologenes, was observed in week-3 compared to week-1 and week-2. Additionally, the abundance of ESKAPE pathogens, including Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii, was higher in week-3 compared to week-1 and week-2. Furthermore, the PCR analysis revealed a higher detection rate of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and K. pneumoniae in week-3 than in the previous weeks. FAPROTAX analysis further revealed a high abundance of specific functions associated with the pathogens of pneumonia, nosocomial, and septicemia in week-3 compared to the other two weeks, suggesting a shift toward more virulent or opportunistic pathogens with increased utilization of ventilator circuits. These findings highlight the microbial risks associated with prolonged use of ventilator circuits, underscoring the need for continuous microbial surveillance throughout their usage, and provide a foundation for optimizing infection control strategies in intensive care settings.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms13091982","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,26]],"date-time":"2025-08-26T06:25:57Z","timestamp":1756189557000},"page":"1982","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Deciphering Bacterial Community Succession and Pathogen Dynamics in ICU Ventilator Circuits Through Full-Length 16S rRNA Sequencing for Mitigating the Risk of Nosocomial Infections"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Hsin-Chi","family":"Tsai","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, No. 701, Section 3, Zhongyang Rd., Hualien 970, Taiwan"},{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, Tzu-Chi General Hospital, No. 701, Section 3, Zhongyang Rd., Hualien 970, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3187-9479","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jung-Sheng","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Research, E-Da Hospital, I-Shou University, No. 1, Section 1, Xuecheng Rd., Kaohsiung 824, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gwo-Jong","family":"Hsu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Internal Medicine, Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, No. 539, Zhongxiao Rd., Chiayi 600, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4881-7872","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bashir","family":"Hussain","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, National Chung Cheng University, No. 168, Section 1, Daxue Rd., Chiayi 600, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1418-4977","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"I-Ching","family":"Lin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Family Medicine, Asia University Hospital, No. 222, Fuxin Rd., Taichung 413, Taiwan"},{"name":"Department of Kinesiology, Health and Leisure, Chienkuo Technology University, No. 1, Jieshou N Rd., Changhua 500, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tsui-Kang","family":"Hsu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, Cheng Hsin General Hospital, No. 45, Zhenxing St., Taipei 112, Taiwan"},{"name":"School of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, No. 1001, Daxue Rd., Hsinchu 300, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jing","family":"Han","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation, Ditmanson Medical Foundation, Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, No. 539, Zhongxiao Rd., Chiayi 600, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2410-5320","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shih-Wei","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Environmental Toxin and Emerging Contaminant, Cheng Shiu University, No. 840, Chengqing Rd., Kaohsiung 824, Taiwan"},{"name":"Institute of Environmental Toxin and Emerging Contaminant, Cheng Shiu University, No. 840, Chengqing Rd., Kaohsiung 824, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6499-1072","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chin-Chia","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Colorectal Surgery, Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, No. 2, Minsheng Rd., Chiayi 600, Taiwan"},{"name":"College of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, No. 701, Section 3, Zhongyang Rd., Hualien 970, Taiwan"},{"name":"School of Post-Baccalaureate Chinese Medicine, Tzu Chi University, No. 701, Section 3, Zhongyang Rd., Hualien 970, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2988-8408","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bing-Mu","family":"Hsu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, National Chung Cheng University, No. 168, Section 1, Daxue Rd., Chiayi 600, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Divatia, J., Pulinilkunnathil, J.G., and Myatra, S.N. 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