From Airway Colonization to Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia: Longitudinal Respiratory Microbiome and Host-Response Evidence for Early Prediction - A Scoping Review

This scoping review will map longitudinal respiratory microbiome and integrated host-response evidence across the transition from airway colonisation to hospital-acquired or ventilator-associated pneumonia. The core evidence will comprise baseline or preclinical samples obtained before HAP/VAP suspicion or diagnosis and followed by outcome ascertainment. Stand-alone post-diagnosis mNGS accuracy studies, pure WGS outbreak investigations, and post-treatment-only studies will be excluded.