title: Feasibility of introducing rejection criteria for stool cultures in a teaching hospital in Portugal.
abstract: The possible introduction of rejection criteria for stool cultures (<or= 3 days hospitalization and <or= 2 specimens) were investigated in a teaching hospital in Portugal. During 12 months, 854 specimens from 537 patients (37% of them adults) were observed. Sixteen percent of inpatients had a positive stool culture (adults 9.7%, pediatric 21.7%). Eighty-five percent had <or= 3 days of hospitalization. Application of the '3-day-rule' would have led to 12 missed cases. Only in three cases would previously proposed exceptions to the rejection criteria have applied. A '5-day-rule' and <or= 2 specimen/patients seem to be more suitable, based on the different hospital conditions present here.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Bacteriologia, Hospital Santa Maria, 1600 Lisboa, Portugal. t.hanscheid@fm.ul.pt
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hänscheid
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Cristino
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Salgado
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002167:Campylobacter / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002648:Child; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D011174:Portugal; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012475:Salmonella / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012760:Shigella / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013997:Time Factors; D016526:Workload / Q000191:economics