title: Pseudomonas cepacia in the sputum of cystic fibrosis patients.
abstract: Colonization of sputum by Pseudomonas cepacia has been associated with progressive respiratory deterioration and a worsening prognosis for some cystic fibrosis patients. After laboratory methods were changed and a selective medium introduced, P. cepacia was isolated from the sputa of 16 out of 82 patients with cystic fibrosis attending this hospital: a prevalence rate of 20%. P. cepacia was found in the first sputum examined of 12 patients after the new methods were introduced, indicating that colonization was not necessarily a recent event. All isolates were satisfactorily identified using conventional media but half were identified with only a low level of confidence using the API 20NE kit. Further studies using adequate laboratory methods are required to determine the prevalence and significance of this organism in Australia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales.
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Kalamatianos
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D016956:Burkholderia cepacia / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002648:Child; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011552:Pseudomonas Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013183:Sputum / Q000382:microbiology*