Comparison of throat and nasopharyngeal swab specimens for culture diagnosis of Bordetella pertussis infection.
During a 9-month period, we evaluated the relative sensitivity of throat and nasopharyngeal swab cultures for isolation of Bordetella pertussis. Of 38 pertussis cases, 36 (95%) had positive nasopharyngeal cultures, while only 16 of 36 (44%) had positive throat cultures. There were no cases of nasopharyngeal-negative, throat-positive cultures. The sensitivity of the direct fluorescent-antibody test was 70% when compared with culture.
D001886:Bordetella pertussis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003470:Culture Media; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006801:Humans; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000382:microbiology*; D010614:Pharynx / Q000382:microbiology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D014917:Whooping Cough / Q000175:diagnosis*
D003470:Culture Media