title: [Requests for microbiological diagnosis by primary care physicians in the Salamanca area].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess requests for microbiological analysis made by Primary Care doctors and to evaluate the quality of the procedure by the indicator: proportion of contaminated urine samples.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective crossover study of requests to the Microbiology Laboratory in the University Hospital of Salamanca during 1995.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study covered the Salamanca Health Area, which consists of 35 Health Centres and a catchment population of 358,408.
  
  
  METHODS
  The requests for microbiological diagnosis and results of the 43,317 samples processed were analysed.
  
  
  METHODS
  The data was distributed according to care level and the Area's Health Centres.
  
  
  RESULTS
  9,574 (22%) of the total number of samples received turned out positive, 27.4% of the requests originated in Primary Care (PC). The overall request rate from PC was 33 per 1,000 inhabitants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The microbiological analysis most frequently requested from PC is urine culture. Relationship between request and positives is 4 to 1.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina Preventiva, Salud Pública y Microbiología Médica, Facultad de Medicina, Salamanca.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Mirón Canelo
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Fresnadillo Martínez
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Sáenz González
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D005658:Fungi / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008828:Microbiological Techniques / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012424:Rural Population; D013030:Spain; D014505:Urban Population; D014556:Urine / Q000382:microbiology; D014621:Vagina / Q000382:microbiology