- "For the microbiologic diagnosis of
pneumonia, by definition, an infiltrate must be
present on a chest x-ray.
- A deeply expectorated sputum sample will yield
the causitive organism from 20-80% of the time,
depending on the study.
- Sputum specimens will be rejected by the
laboratory if they have >10 epithelial cells
per high power field.
- The reason is that epithelial cells are usually
from the upper airway, and have many adherent
bacteria (see photomicrograph).
- These bacteria constitute the normal flora of the
upper airway, and confuse interpretation of the
culture."
- Ó
1999- KUMC Pathology and the University of
Kansas, used with permission; courtesy of Dr.
James Fishback, Department of Pathology,
University of Kansas Medical Center.
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