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False-Negative Rate of Gram-Stain Microscopy for Diagnosis of Septic Arthritis : Suggestions for Improvement
Joint Authors
Armstrong, Malcolm
Stirling, Paul
Qamruddin, Ahmed
Faroug, Radwane
Amanat, Suheil
Ahmed, Abdulkhaled
Sharma, Pankaj
Source
International Journal of Microbiology
Issue
Vol. 2014, Issue 2014 (31 Dec. 2014), pp.1-4, 4 p.
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Publication Date
2014-02-13
Country of Publication
Egypt
No. of Pages
4
Main Subjects
Natural & Life Sciences (Multidisciplinary)
Medicine
Abstract EN
We quantify the false-negative diagnostic rate of septic arthritis using Gram-stain microscopy of synovial fluid and compare this to values reported in the peer-reviewed literature.
We propose a method of improving the diagnostic value of Gram-stain microscopy using Lithium Heparin containers that prevent synovial fluid coagulation.
Retrospective study of the Manchester Royal Infirmary microbiology database of patients undergoing synovial fluid Gram-stain and culture between December 2003 and March 2012 was undertaken.
The initial cohort of 1896 synovial fluid analyses for suspected septic arthritis was reduced to 143 after exclusion criteria were applied.
Analysis of our Gram-stain microscopy yielded 111 false-negative results from a cohort size of 143 positive synovial fluid cultures, giving a false-negative rate of 78%.
We report a false-negative rate of Gram-stain microscopy for septic arthritis of 78%.
Clinicians should therefore avoid the investigation until a statistically significant data set confirms its efficacy.
The investigation's value could be improved by using Lithium Heparin containers to collect homogenous synovial fluid samples.
Ongoing research aims to establish how much this could reduce the false-negative rate.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Stirling, Paul& Faroug, Radwane& Amanat, Suheil& Ahmed, Abdulkhaled& Armstrong, Malcolm& Sharma, Pankaj…[et al.]. 2014. False-Negative Rate of Gram-Stain Microscopy for Diagnosis of Septic Arthritis : Suggestions for Improvement. International Journal of Microbiology،Vol. 2014, no. 2014, pp.1-4.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-501599
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Stirling, Paul…[et al.]. False-Negative Rate of Gram-Stain Microscopy for Diagnosis of Septic Arthritis : Suggestions for Improvement. International Journal of Microbiology No. 2014 (2014), pp.1-4.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-501599
American Medical Association (AMA)
Stirling, Paul& Faroug, Radwane& Amanat, Suheil& Ahmed, Abdulkhaled& Armstrong, Malcolm& Sharma, Pankaj…[et al.]. False-Negative Rate of Gram-Stain Microscopy for Diagnosis of Septic Arthritis : Suggestions for Improvement. International Journal of Microbiology. 2014. Vol. 2014, no. 2014, pp.1-4.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-501599
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Includes bibliographical references
Record ID
BIM-501599