Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Jan 24:7:1-5.
doi: 10.4137/CMPed.S8051. Print 2013.

Utility of blood culture in uncomplicated pneumonia in children

Alberto Mendoza-Paredes  1 , Jorge Bastos, Mark Leber, Evelyn Erickson, Muhammad Waseem
Affiliations

Utility of blood culture in uncomplicated pneumonia in children

Alberto Mendoza-Paredes et al. Clin Med Insights Pediatr. .

Abstract

Background: It is believed to be the standard of care to obtain a blood culture in a child who is hospitalized for pneumonia. In recent years, many studies have questioned the utility of this practice in the presence of age appropriate immunization. We conducted this study to determine the current prevalence of bacteremia in children with uncomplicated pneumonia and the utility of obtaining blood cultures in these children.

Objective: To evaluate the risk of bacteremia in hospitalized young children with pneumonia.

Methods: This was a retrospective review from July 2003 until July 2008. The setting was the pediatric emergency department of an urban teaching hospital. The study population included children under 36 months of age who had been fully immunized and who had been hospitalized with radiographic evidence of uncomplicated pneumonia. Excluded were children who were currently using antibiotics or who had used antibiotics within the previous 48 hours, as well as children with immunodeficiency status such as sickle cell anemia, immunoglobulin deficiency, or children on steroid therapy. The radiologist's interpretation of each chest radiograph was reviewed and recorded. The variables studied were age (in months), gender, race, birth history, pneumococcal vaccination status, appearance on arrival, temperature on arrival, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, white blood cell (WBC) count, neutrophil count, band count, and urine culture. The chi-square test and logistic regression were used to analyze the data.

Results: A blood culture was obtained in 535 children hospitalized with radiographic pneumonia. Bacteremia was present in 12 children (2.2%). All organisms isolated from the blood cultures were considered contaminants.

Conclusion: Children hospitalized with uncomplicated pneumonia have a low rate of positive blood cultures. None of the variables studied predicted bacteremia. The absence of true-positive cultures among the organisms isolated suggests little value in obtaining blood cultures in children hospitalized due to uncomplicated pneumonia.

Keywords: blood Culture; pneumonia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Organisms isolated from blood cultures.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Harris M, Clark J, Coote N, et al. British Thoracic Society Standards of Care Committee British Thoracic Society guidelines for the management of community acquired pneumonia in children: update 2011. Thorax. 2011;66(Suppl 2):ii1–23. - PubMed
    1. Mandell LA, Wunderink RG, Anzueto A, et al. Infectious Diseases Society of America/American Thoracic Society consensus guidelines on the management of community-acquired pneumonia in adults. Clin Infect Dis. 2007;44(Suppl 2):S27–72. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hickey RW, Bowman MJ, Smith GA. Utility of blood cultures in pediatric patients found to have pneumonia in the emergency department. Ann Emerg Med. 1996;27:721–5. - PubMed
    1. McGowan JE, Jr, Bratton L, Klein JO, Finland M. Bacteremia in febrile children seen in a “walk-in” pediatric clinic. N Engl J Med. 1973;288(25):1309–12. - PubMed
    1. Teele DW, Pelton SI, Grant MJ, et al. Bacteremia in febrile children under 2 years of age: results of cultures of blood of 600 consecutive febrile children seen in a “walk-in” clinic. J Pediatr. 1975;87(2):227–30. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources