title: [Diagnosis of pathogens in nosocomial pneumonia].
abstract: Due to the rising number of immunosuppressed patients, the spectrum of pathogens in nosocomial pneumonias has expanded considerably. This has led to increased demands on both the methods and the quantity of microbiological diagnostics. Most important is still the detection of the pathogen through cultivation, the success of which depends mostly on the quality of the test material. Progress in this area is therefore, to a considerable extent, dependent on invasive methods of gaining clean tracheobronchial secretion. Apart from the long-known serological test methods for viruses, mycoplasma, chlamydia, legionella and other bronchopulmonary pathogens, a series of new investigational methods have meanwhile been established. These include microscopy with direct immunofluorescence, immunological detection of antigenic components of pathogens in blood or urine and lately the new methods of molecular biology: gene probes and polymerase chain reaction. The latter promise higher sensitivity and specificity as well as a more rapid diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Max v. Pettenkofer-Institut für Hygiene und Medizinische Mikrobiologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ruckdeschel
mesh_terms: D003428:Cross Infection / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D015342:DNA Probes; D006801:Humans; D008828:Microbiological Techniques; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012698:Serologic Tests
chemical_list: D015342:DNA Probes
vernacular_title: Erregerdiagnostik bei nosokomialen Pneumonien.