Fig. 4

The detection and quantity of 6 target bacteria by EG-mPCR assays in accordance with culture results. A All samples; B Tracheal aspirates; C Sputum samples. The circles indicate the detection of the target bacterium alone, while the triangles illustrate co-detection with another target bacterium in EG-mPCR assays. Colours (green, purple, and orange) correspond to the culture results of the target bacterium: green for culture positive alone, purple for culture positive with another bacterium, and orange for culture negative. The Y-axis represents the target bacterium quantity in CFU/ml, determined through the quantitative EG-mPCR. The dashed line indicates the cut-off for culture positivity (10.⁵ CFU/ml)