Quantification of nasopharyngeal bacteria for diagnosis of respiratory tract infection in children

Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases
M SöderströmC Schalén

Abstract

Agreement between clinical signs of bacterial respiratory tract infections and quantities of respiratory tract pathogens in nasopharynx was studied in 77 children, aged 6-13 years. Specimens were obtained from 27 clinically bacterial and 51 clinically non-bacterial respiratory tract infections, and in 124 instances from healthy children. Viable counts of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Branhamella catarrhalis, and beta-haemolytic streptococci were made from swab specimens suspended in saline before being plated on agar media. The frequency of these species in children with clinically bacterial, non-bacterial and no signs of respiratory tract infections were 85%, 47% and 26%, respectively. Bacterial counts greater than 10(4) colony-forming units (CFU)/ml of the pathogens occurred in 59% of clinically bacterial infections, as compared with 18% in clinically non-bacterial infections (p less than 0.001), the corresponding figures for counts greater than 10(3) CFU/ml being 85% and 41% (p less than 0.01), respectively. At neither level of bacterial count (i.e. greater than 10(4) or greater than 10(3], was there a significant difference between the healthy and those with a clinically non-bacterial infection. The quan...Continue Reading

References

Jul 11, 1975·The Journal of Infectious Diseases·J O HendleyJ M Gwaltney
Oct 1, 1980·The Journal of Pediatrics·H F Pabst, H W Kreth
Jan 18, 1958·British Medical Journal·F S BRIMBLECOMBEG T STEWART

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