Abstract
Objective
Staphylococcus aureus is one of the prominent causative agents of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Gram staining of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid is not always reliable. A nonisotopid probe (Accuprobe) has been developed by Gen-Probe for the specific identification ofS. aureus isolated from cultures. This study was undertaken to assess the reliability of this probe for the early diagnosis ofS. aureus VAP.
Design
A prospective study in 120 consecutive patients.
Setting
Department of intensive care medicine at a university hospital.
Patients
120 ventilated patients (70 males and 50 females; mean age 52±12 years; mean simplified acute physiologic score=13±4) were studied.
Interventions
164 bronchoalveolar lavages were performed (none of the patients received prior antibiotic therapy).
Measurements and results
S. aureus was identified 29 times at significant concentrations (≥104 cfu/ml) and 7 times at<104 cfu/ml. The sensitivity and specificity of the Accuprobe system were 100 and 96%, respectively. We found agreement between quantitative cultures and probes in 96.3% of cases.
Conclusions
We conclude that this probe provides a rapid (≤7 h) and accurate diagnosis ofS. aureus pulmonary infection.
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Supported by CHRU de Lyon and by grants from Société de Réanimation de Langue Française and Laboratoires SPECIA
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Allaouchiche, B., Meugnier, H., Freney, J. et al. Rapid identification ofStaphylococcus aureus in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid using a DNA probe (Accuprobe). Intensive Care Med 22, 683–687 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01709747
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01709747