Abstract
Molecular diagnostics is a rapidly progressing field, and much has changed since the second edition of Molecular Microbiology was published in 2011. As pressures on clinical laboratories mount to keep up with quality-based care, molecular testing is a must have to provide accurate results in an efficient manner. The third edition of Molecular Microbiology contains an enormous amount of technical information that spans all aspects of microbiology—bacteriology, virology, parasitology, mycology, mycobacteriology, public health, and point-of-care testing.
This book is divided into 56 chapters with contributions from many knowledgeable authors. Some chapters from the previous edition have been reorganized to stay relevant with the current testing landscape. New sections include Molecular Diagnostics and Public Health, Syndromic Diagnostics, and Developing a Business Case for Hospital Administration.
A section that was particularly well put together includes Section I on Novel and Emerging Technologies. New technologies can be a challenge for a clinical laboratory to implement into everyday practice. This section well described validation approaches for technologies such as next-generation sequencing and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight and covered topics spanning from sample preparation to appropriate resulting. In this same vein, I found that Section V on Syndromic Diagnostics could have included better recommendations for validations of multiplex assays.
As laboratory testing shifts from traditional methods to molecular methods, the laboratory is shifting from its traditional business role in an institution to a cost center. This puts additional stress on the microbiology laboratory to prove its value to the institution. Developing a business case for new, expensive testing is a new challenge for the clinical laboratory. Chapter 55 discusses this topic well, although I would suggest a full example be included and more resources to help guide laboratory managers with their own cases.
The intended audience for this textbook is the clinical laboratory technologist, manager, and medical director. The great benefit in this book is the multitude of easy-to-read tables outlining different testing options currently available and their strengths and weaknesses. For example, Tables 1 and 2 on pages 173-175 are incredibly informative and nicely summarize commercial options available for methicillin resistant S.aureus/methicillin susceptible S.aureus (MRSA/MSSA) molecular testing. Another nicely organized table is Table 1 on pages 341-342 that describes commercially available molecular systems for bloodstream infections. With an extensive array of options now on the market, the clinical laboratory gets overwhelmed with comparing platform and assay pros and cons and likely has little time to do a full investigation; this book provides a great tool as a place to start considering possible testing selections. This text is also an informative resource for infectious disease physicians and infection preventionists to better understand the utility of tests currently in use at their institutions. I highly recommend this text as a resource for the clinical microbiology laboratory and infectious disease departments.