Pneumococcal Colonization Rates in Patients Admitted to a United Kingdom Hospital with Lower Respiratory Tract Infection: a Prospective Case-Control Study.

ABSTRACT: Current diagnostic tests are ineffective for identifying the etiological pathogen in hospitalized adults with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs). The association of pneumococcal colonization with disease has been suggested as a means to increase the diagnostic precision. We compared the pneumococcal colonization rates and the densities of nasal pneumococcal colonization by (i) classical culture and (ii) quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) targetinglytAin patients with LRTIs admitted to a hospital in the United Kingdom and control patients. A total of 826 patients were screened for inclusion in this prospective case-control study. Of these, 38 patients were recruited, 19 with confirmed LRTIs and 19 controls with other diagnoses. Nasal wash (NW) samples were collected at the time of re

SUBMITTER: Collins AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4809940 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature