title: [Application of bacterial cultures of bronchoalveolar lavage fluids in children with pulmonary infection].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the value of bacterial cultures of bronchoalveolar lavage fluids (BALF) in children with pulmonary infection.
  
  
  METHODS
  Bacterial cultures sampled from both sputum and BALF were performed on 80 hospitalized children with pulmonary infection between June 2008 and February 2011.Culture results between the two samples were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the 80 children with pulmonary infection, bacterial cultures of BALF showed that Viridans Streptococci were found in 72 cases (90%), Neisseria in 41 cases (51%), Streptococcus pneumoniae in 11 cases (14%), Staphylococcus Aureus in 3 cases (4%) and Escherichia coli in 3 cases (4%). The positive rates of Viridans Streptococci in the bacterial cultures of BALF was not significantly different from the bacterial cultures of sputum, but the positive rate of Streptococcus pneumoniae in the bacterial cultures of BALF was significantly higher than in the bacterial cultures of sputum (4%). Moreover, Escherichia coli were found only by bacterial cultures of BALF.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Bacterial cultures of BALF are useful in the identification of pathogenic bacteria for pulmonary infection in children. Due to the samples taken from the lesion regions in bacterial cultures of BALF, the results of may be more reliable.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pneumology, Jiangxi Children's Hospital, Nanchang, China. zhanggaoping10@163.com
authors.forename: Gao-Ping
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Jian-Mei
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Shu-Ping
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Xiao-Jun
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Lan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xiao-Hua
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Ai-Min
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Ci-Lang
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000382:microbiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male