Analysis of culture-dependent versus culture-independent techniques for identification of bacteria in clinically obtained bronchoalveolar lavage fluid.

ABSTRACT: The diagnosis and management of pneumonia are limited by the use of culture-based techniques of microbial identification, which may fail to identify unculturable, fastidious, and metabolically active viable but unculturable bacteria. Novel high-throughput culture-independent techniques hold promise but have not been systematically compared to conventional culture. We analyzed 46 clinically obtained bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid specimens from symptomatic and asymptomatic lung transplant recipients both by culture (using a clinical microbiology laboratory protocol) and by bacterial 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing. Bacteria were identified in 44 of 46 (95.7%) BAL fluid specimens by culture-independent sequencing, significantly more than the number of specimens in which bacteria were detect

SUBMITTER: Dickson RP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4187760 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature