help button home button
AJRCCM
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by MERTENS, A. H.
Right arrow Articles by COOLEN, D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by MERTENS, A. H.
Right arrow Articles by COOLEN, D.

Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., Volume 157, Number 4, April 1998, 1240-1243

Quality Assessment of Protected Specimen Brush Samples by Microscopic Cell Count

AN H. MERTENS, JAN M. NAGLER, DANIELLA I. GALDERMANS, HANS R. SLABBYNCK, BARBARA WEISE, and DIRK COOLEN

Laboratory for Clinical Microbiology, Department of Intensive Care, and Department of Pneumology, Middelheim General Hospital, Antwerp, Belgium

Protected specimen brushing (PSB), combined with quantitative culture, is now recognized as one of the reference methods for diagnosis of nosocomial pneumonia. However, no criteria exist with which to assess the quality of the PSB sample. We studied numbers of inflammatory cells and bronchial cells per microscopic field (magnification: ×500, objective ×50) in cytospin preparations of PSB samples. Results of cell count and quantitative culture in a first study period were compared with those in a second study period, following adaptation of the PSB technique and collection of samples from more peripheral sites. The cellular content of samples from patients and controls was investigated. We examined 86 samples from patients with suspected nosocomial pneumonia and 15 samples from uninfected controls. The number of samples with a high cellular content was considerably greater in the second study period. No positive cultures were obtained from samples containing < 10 cells per field. The numbers of cells in samples from uninfected controls were comparable to the numbers in samples from patients. Our results indicate that absence of cells probably represents inadequate sampling. Negative PSB cultures with cytospin preparations containing < 10 cells per microscopic field should therefore be considered with caution, and resampling considered.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Clin. Microbiol. Rev.Home page
S. M. Koenig and J. D. Truwit
Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention
Clin. Microbiol. Rev., October 1, 2006; 19(4): 637 - 657.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Clin. Microbiol.Home page
K. C. Carroll
Laboratory Diagnosis of Lower Respiratory Tract Infections: Controversy and Conundrums
J. Clin. Microbiol., September 1, 2002; 40(9): 3115 - 3120.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Clin. Microbiol.Home page
J. A. Jacobs, E. I. G. B. De Brauwer, E. I. M. Cornelissen, and M. Drent
Accuracy and Precision of Quantitative Calibrated Loops in Transfer of Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid
J. Clin. Microbiol., June 1, 2000; 38(6): 2117 - 2121.
[Abstract] [Full Text]

Home page
 Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med.Home page
M. NOPPEN, D. PIÉRARD, M. MEYSMAN, I. CLAES, and W. VINCKEN
Bacterial Colonization of Central Airways after Stenting
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., August 1, 1999; 160(2): 672 - 677.
[Abstract] [Full Text]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Proc. Am. Thorac. Soc. Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol.
Copyright © 1998 American Thoracic Society 		  Tobacco