ArticleJournal of clinical microbiology2021
The Pediatric Endotracheal Aspirate Culture Survey (PETACS): Examining Practice Variation across Pediatric Microbiology Laboratories in the United States.
Article in Journal of clinical microbiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Semi-Quantitative Detection of Respiratory Pathogens: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Results From the BIOFIRE FILMARRAY Pneumonia Panel and Culture.MicrobiologyOpen · 2026Pooled it
- Improving the culture surrounding tracheal aspirates in mechanically ventilated children.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2026Article
- Diagnostic Stewardship of Respiratory Cultures Using Clinical Decision Support in the PICU.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Early Antibiotic Discontinuation for Children With a Positive Rapid Respiratory Viral Test Hospitalized for Suspected Bacterial Tracheostomy-Associated Infections.Pediatric pulmonology · 2026Article
- Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction Versus Standard Bacterial Culture in Critically Ill Children With Suspected Pneumonia.The Pediatric infectious disease journal · 2025Article
- (Un)Sustainable Science: Greening Practices in Research, Clinical Microbiology, and Veterinary Laboratories Locally and Globally.Open forum infectious diseases · 2025Review
- Opportunities for collaboration: the synergy between antimicrobial and diagnostic stewardship in pediatrics.Antimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology : ASHE · 2025Review
- Factors associated with tracheostomy-associated infection treatment: A multicenter observational study.Pediatric pulmonology · 2024Observational
- Improving Antibiotic Use for Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia Through Diagnostic Stewardship: A Proof-of-Concept Mixed Methods Study.Open forum infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Breaking Boundaries in Pneumonia Diagnostics: Transitioning from Tradition to Molecular Frontiers with Multiplex PCR.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Navigating the network: a narrative overview of AMR surveillance and data flow in the United States.Antimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology : ASHE · 2024Review
- Leveraging diagnostic stewardship within antimicrobial stewardship programmes.Drugs in context · 2023Review
- Impact of Organism Reporting from Endotracheal Aspirate Cultures on Antimicrobial Prescribing Practices in Mechanically Ventilated Pediatric Patients.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2022Article
- Clinical Microbiology in 2021: My Favorite Studies about Everything Except My Least Favorite Virus.Clinical microbiology newsletter · 2022Article
- Evaluation of the applicability of the current CDC pediatric ventilator-associated events (PedVAE) surveillance definition in the neonatal intensive care unit population.BMC pediatrics · 2022Article
- Lower respiratory tract infections in children requiring mechanical ventilation: a multicentre prospective surveillance study incorporating airway metagenomics.The Lancet. Microbe · 2022Article
- Diagnostic Stewardship in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.Infectious disease clinics of North America · 2022Review
- Diagnostic Stewardship as a Team Sport: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Improved Implementation of Interventions and Effect Measurement.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Association of Endotracheal Aspirate Culture Variability and Antibiotic Use in Mechanically Ventilated Pediatric Patients.JAMA network open · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
In the absence of evidence-based laboratory guidelines, the workup and interpretation of tracheal aspirate (TA) cultures remains controversial and confusing within the fields of clinical microbiology, infectious diseases, and critical care. Between 22 January and 24 February 2020, we conducted a national, web-based survey of microbiology laboratory personnel in free-standing pediatric hospitals and adult hospitals containing pediatric facilities regarding the laboratory practices used for TA specimens. We hypothesized there would be substantial center-level variability in laboratory processing of TA cultures. The response rate for the survey was 48% (73/153). There was a high level of variability in the criteria used for all processes, including specimen receipt, Gram staining, and culture reporting. Most respondents (77%) reported they do not reject TA specimens based on Gram stain criteria, and 44% of labs do not require that a minimum number of Gram stain fields be reviewed prior to reporting results. Overall, nonacademic hospital laboratories and pediatric-only laboratories are more likely to identify, report, and perform susceptibility testing on organisms from TA cultures, regardless of organism quantity or predominance. There is a substantial amount of process variability among pediatric microbiology laboratories that affects TA culture reporting, and which guides treatment decisions. This variation within and among labs makes clinical outcome studies related to TA cultures difficult to interpret. This study serves as a pragmatic step in informing the development of robust clinical guidelines. Clinical outcome and implementation studies are necessary to determine the effectiveness of guidelines for TA cultures.
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