STUDY OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical value of blood cultures (BCs) in the management of adult patients discharged from the emergency department (ED) with a diagnosis of community acquired pneumonia (CAP). METHODS: The courses of antibiotic regimens and outcomes of patients with positive BC results were examined to assess their influence on BCs. RESULTS: BCs were obtained from 289 outpatients. Six clinically significant organisms were identified (a yield of 2.1%). Outpatients with CAP who had blood cultures performed had a 0.69% (2 of 289) chance of having a change of treatment directed by the results of the culture. CONCLUSION: BCs have little utility in the ambulatory management of CAP.
STUDY OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical value of blood cultures (BCs) in the management of adult patients discharged from the emergency department (ED) with a diagnosis of community acquired pneumonia (CAP). METHODS: The courses of antibiotic regimens and outcomes of patients with positive BC results were examined to assess their influence on BCs. RESULTS: BCs were obtained from 289 outpatients. Six clinically significant organisms were identified (a yield of 2.1%). Outpatients with CAP who had blood cultures performed had a 0.69% (2 of 289) chance of having a change of treatment directed by the results of the culture. CONCLUSION: BCs have little utility in the ambulatory management of CAP.
Authors: M S Niederman; J B Bass; G D Campbell; A M Fein; R F Grossman; L A Mandell; T J Marrie; G A Sarosi; A Torres; V L Yu Journal: Am Rev Respir Dis Date: 1993-11
Authors: K Wildi; S Tschudin-Sutter; S Dell-Kuster; R Frei; H C Bucher; R Nüesch Journal: Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis Date: 2011-04-20 Impact factor: 3.267
Authors: Kate E Templeton; Sitha A Scheltinga; Willian C J F M van den Eeden; A Willy Graffelman; Peterhans J van den Broek; Eric C J Claas Journal: Clin Infect Dis Date: 2005-06-22 Impact factor: 9.079