title: Compliance of clinical microbiology laboratories in the United States with current recommendations for processing respiratory tract specimens from patients with cystic fibrosis.
abstract: Respiratory tract specimens from patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) require unique processing by clinical microbiology laboratories to ensure detection of all potential pathogens. The present study sought to determine the compliance of microbiology laboratories in the United States with recently published recommendations for CF respiratory specimens. Microbiology laboratory protocols from 150 of 190 (79%) CF care sites were reviewed. Most described the use of selective media for Burkholderia cepacia complex (99%), Staphylococcus aureus (82%), and Haemophilus influenzae (89%) and identified the species of all gram-negative bacilli (87%). Only 52% delineated the use of agar diffusion assays for susceptibility testing of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Standardizing laboratory practices will improve treatment, infection control, and our understanding of the changing epidemiology of CF microbiology.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University, College of Physicians & Surgeons, 650 West 168th St., PH 4 West Room 470, New York, NY 10032, USA.
authors.forename: Juyan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Garber
authors.forename: Manisha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Desai
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Saiman
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000254:growth & development; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis / Q000382:microbiology; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000458:organization & administration; D006287:Health Planning Guidelines; D006801:Humans; D007753:Laboratories / Q000941:ethics* / Q000592:standards; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000592:standards*; D014481:United States