@article {4767,
	title = {Sputum Quality Assessment Regarding Sputum Culture for Diagnosing Lower Respiratory Tract Infections in Children},
	journal = {Open Access Maced J Med Sci},
	volume = {7},
	year = {2019},
	pages = {1},
	abstract = {

BACKGROUND:
The clinical relevance of specimens from the lower airways is often debatable. However, they are most commonly examined for diagnosing lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs).


AIM:
This study aimed to determine the diagnostic value of sputum quality assessment about sputum culture for diagnosing LRTIs in children.


METHODS:
In six months, a total of 1485 sputum samples were quality assessed by using Bartlett{\textquoteright}s grading system. All samples, regardless of their quality, were cultured, identified, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by Kirby-Bauer disc-diffusion method.


RESULTS:
Among the acceptable category, defined by Bartlett{\textquoteright}s grading system, 132 (63.2\%) samples showed culture positivity of which\&nbsp;Streptococcus pneumoniae\&nbsp;48 (36.4\%) was most commonly isolated, followed by\&nbsp;Moraxella catarrhalis\&nbsp;22 (16.7\%) and\&nbsp;Haemophilus influenza\&nbsp;21 (15.9\%). Among the non-acceptable category, 185 (14.5\%) samples were culture positive of which most commonly isolated were\&nbsp;Escherichia coli,\&nbsp;Staphylococcus aureus\&nbsp;and\&nbsp;Pseudomonas aeruginosa\&nbsp;with 64 (34.6\%), 54 (29.2\%) and 28 (15.1\%), respectively.


CONCLUSION:
Sputum quality assessment is a useful tool for distinguishing the true respiratory pathogens from possible colonising flora for which antibiotic treatment should not be highly considered.


Keywords:\&nbsp;Sputum culture, Quality assessment,\&nbsp;Streptococcus pneumoniae,\&nbsp;Escherichia coli},
	url = {https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6684435/},
	author = {Gorica Popova and Katerina Boskovska and Ivana Arnaudova-Danevska and Olga Smilevska-Spasova and Tatjana Jakovska}
}
