title: Respiratory rate as a predictor of positive lung aspirates in young Gambian children with lobar pneumonia.
abstract: Clinical predictors of a positive bacterial culture from lung aspirate or blood culture were investigated in 90 children under 5 years of age with lobar pneumonia on whom both lung aspiration and blood culture were performed. Of the 66 children with a respiratory rate of > or = 50 breaths/min, 35 (53%) had positive bacterial lung aspirates compared with only five (21.7%) of 23 children with a respiratory rate of < 50 breaths/min (odds ratio [OR] 4.06, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.24-15.46, p = 0.02). Of the 41 children with positive lung aspirates, 31 (76%) had negative blood cultures. In contrast with children with positive lung aspirates, there were no clinical predictors of a positive blood culture. A respiratory rate of > or = 50 breaths/min in children with radiological evidence of lobar pneumonia would support lung aspiration as a positive result is significantly more likely than in children with a lower respiratory rate.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Laboratories, Fajara, The Gambia. afalade33@hotmail.com
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Falade
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Adegbola
authors.forename: E K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Mulholland
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Greenwood
mesh_terms: D016470:Bacteremia / Q000382:microbiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000382:microbiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D018410:Pneumonia, Bacterial / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012119:Respiration