title: Specimen collection for the diagnosis of pediatric pneumonia.
abstract: Diagnosing the etiologic agent of pneumonia has an essential role in ensuring the most appropriate and effective therapy for individual patients and is critical to guiding the development of treatment and prevention strategies. However, establishing the etiology of pneumonia remains challenging because of the relative inaccessibility of the infected tissue and the difficulty in obtaining samples without contamination by upper respiratory tract secretions. Here, we review the published and unpublished literature on various specimens available for the diagnosis of pediatric pneumonia. We discuss the advantages and limitations of each specimen, and discuss the rationale for the specimens to be collected for the Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health study.
authors.affiliation: International Vaccine Access Center, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA. lhammitt@jhsph.edu
authors.forename: Laura L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Hammitt
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Murdoch
authors.forename: J Anthony G
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Driscoll
authors.forename: Ruth A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Karron
authors.forename: Orin S
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.forename: Katherine L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: O'Brien
mesh_terms: D001769:Blood / Q000382:microbiology; D012634:Bodily Secretions / Q000382:microbiology; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology; D018579:Patient Selection; D010372:Pediatrics; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012698:Serologic Tests / Q000379:methods; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000191:economics / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D013183:Sputum / Q000382:microbiology; D014556:Urine / Q000382:microbiology