Comparison on resulte of sputum culture and sputum smear from patients in critical medicine department

Objective To compare the results of smear and culture of sputum from patients in critical medicine department, and provide guidance for clinical medication. Methods The sputum specimens of patients from the Department of Critical Care Medicine of Zhuhai Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital from January 2017 to October 2018 were collected. Among them, 190 patients were examined by sputum smear and sputum culture. The relationship between the qualified rate of sputum smear and the coincidence rate of sputum culture was analyzed. Results ① Among the 190 patients, 153 sputum smears were qualified, and the qualified rate was 80.5%. Of the 153 cases of sputum smears, bacteria were found in 127 cases (83.0%) by microscopy, but not found in 26 cases (17.0%). ② Of the 127 bacterial specimens, 97 cases (76.3%) of sputum smears contained Gram-negative bacilli, 69 cases of sputum smears (54.3%) contained Gram-positive cocci, and 13 cases (10.2%) contained Gram-negative cocci. Among the 127 cases of sputum culture with bacteria, Gram-negative cocci were found in 87 cases (68.5%), Gram-positive cocci were found in 32 cases (25.2%), Gram-negative cocci was found in 1 case (0.8%), however, 10 cases were not further treated because the cultured bacteria were too miscellaneous. ③ Among the 26 sputum smears, of which bacteria were not determined, bacteria were cultured in 3 cases. Conclusions Among qualified sputum specimens, sputum smear and sputum culture have a good coincidence rate, especially in patients with Gram-negative bacterial infection. Doctors can consider the results of sputum smear to give targeted medication, which is conducive to speeding up the recovery of patients. Key words: Sputum smear; Sputum culture; Coincidence rate