title: [Availability of laboratory tools for microbiological diagnosis of lower respiratory tract infections in Italian hospitals].
abstract: To assess the availability of laboratory tools for microbiological diagnosis of lower respiratory tract infection, a survey was conducted on a sample of Italian hospital laboratories during the period April-July 2005. Overall, 261 hospitals, one third of the total Italian hospitals, were randomly selected. All these laboratories were sent a standardized questionnaire collecting information on diagnostic tools available for testing a list of bacterial, viral and fungal organisms responsible for lower respiratory tract infections. Forty eight percent of the sample completed and returned the questionnaire. A part from few pathogens such as Enterobacteria, Enterococcus Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, Herpes simplex e Candida spp, for which no differences in diagnostic capacity among hospitals was found, for all the other pathogens considered, significant differences among geographical areas were found.
authors: Centro Nazionale di Epidemiologia, Sorveglianza e Promozione della Salute, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Roma. mariacristina.rota@iss.it
authors: M C
authors: MC
authors: Rota
authors: F
authors: F
authors: D'Ancona
authors: G Maggio
authors: GM
authors: Cavallaro
authors: B
authors: B
authors: Bagnato
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Nacca
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Serra
mesh_terms: D001991:Bronchitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology*; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques; D006306:Health Surveys; D006761:Hospitals / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D007755:Laboratories, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D008828:Microbiological Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology*; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires