title: Inaccuracy of house staff in reading throat cultures.
abstract: The low prevalence of streptococcal pharyngitis in our pediatric clinic during a normally high-prevalence period encouraged us to examine the accuracy of throat culture readings made by the house staff. Six pediatric residents processed 256 cultures, which were then reinterpreted by a microbiologist. The residents consistently underread the cultures, failing to identify 68 (60%) of 112 with beta-hemolysis and 23 (58%) of 40 with a zone of bacitracin inhibition. This inaccuracy in interpretation of throat cultures emphasizes the physician's need to periodically reassess these skills.
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards*; D003470:Culture Media; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000592:standards*; D010612:Pharyngitis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D010614:Pharynx / Q000382:microbiology*; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D013291:Streptococcus / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media