Researchers from Statens Serum Institute detail new studies and findings in the area of microbiology
2007 NOV 19 -- Data detailed in 'The significance of the number of submitted samples and patient-related factors for faecal bacterial diagnostics' have been presented. "The sensitivity of bacteriological testing of faecal samples from patients with diarrhoea has not been properly determined. The present study analysed the association between the results of stool sample examinations and the number of samples examined per patient and other patient-related factors," scientists writing in the journal Clinical Microbiology and Infection report. "Data concerning faecal specimens referred for culture for enteric bacterial pathogens (Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella and Yersinia) to the central microbiological laboratory in Denmark between 1995 and 2003 were analysed. In total, 620 000 samples were sorted into 277 000 sample-series, i.e., samples submitted from the same individual on the same day. Data were analysed by multivariate logistic regression, with the outcome being a positive sample-series, i.e., one or more positive samples per series. Overall, 11.9% of the sample-series were positive. For adults (aged >or=18 years), the OR for a positive diagnosis was 1.20 (95% CI 1.18-1.21) for each additional sample. Positive diagnoses were also more likely during summer, if the patient was male, or if the patient was neither very young nor very old. The added diagnostic effect of additional samples was more pronounced for the group of patients with persistent (>2 weeks) diarrhoea. Overall, the probability of finding common pathogenic bacteria in faecal samples was found to vary according to the number of samples, the season and the patient's age and gender," wrote S. Ethelberg and colleagues, Statens Serum Institute. The researchers concluded: "Analysis of more than one sample improves the sensitivity of faecal culture by at least 20% for each additional sample." Ethelberg and colleagues published their study in Clinical Microbiology and Infection (The significance of the number of submitted samples and patient-related factors for faecal bacterial diagnostics. Clinical Microbiology and Infection, 2007;13(11):1095-9). Additional information can be obtained by contacting S. Ethelberg, Mycology and Parasitology, Dept. of Bacteriology, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark. The publisher of the journal Clinical Microbiology and Infection can be contacted at: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 9600 Garsington Rd., Oxford OX4 2DG, Oxon, England. Keywords: Denmark, Copenhagen, Clinical Microbiology, Diagnostics. This article was prepared by Gastroenterology Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2007, Gastroenterology Week via NewsRx.com.
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