[The comparison of different bronchial aspirate culturing methods in patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP)].

BACKGROUND: Although broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL) culture and protected specimen brush (PSB) are regarded as the most effective methods in the diagnosis of VAP, a simple endotracheal aspiration (EA) is frequently performed during routine care, because of its simplicity and low cost. We compared the effectiveness of EA with BAL and PSB in VAP patients.

METHODS: Sixty-one adult VAP patients, ventilated for longer than 48 h, were cultured with all three methods.

RESULTS: Positive cultures were obtained from 63.9% of patients, with Acinetobacter baumannii being the most common pathogen. There was a high positive correlation between simple aspirates and BAL (k 0.817, CI 0.664-0.840, p <0.001) and aspirates and PSB (k 0.667, CI 0.483-0.871, p <0.001).

CONCLUSION: Because of the high sensitivity of bronchial aspirate culturing, compared to BAL and PSB, it can be used successfully in most cases.