Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35236305›Full record

ArticleBMC infectious diseases2022

Diagnostic stewardship aiming at expectorated or induced sputum promotes microbial diagnosis in community-acquired pneumonia.

Bjørn Waagsbø, Eva Margrethe Buset, Jørn-Åge Longva, Merete Bjerke, Birgitte Bakkene, Anne-Stine Ertesvåg, Hanne Holmen, Marko Nikodojevic, To Thy Tran, Andreas Christensen and 3 more

Open access · goldAbstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Challenges and opportunities in the management of severe pneumonia. Key concepts from the Seventh Annual Meeting of Spanish Experts 2025.Revista espanola de quimioterapia : publicacion oficial de la Sociedad Espanola de Quimioterapia · 2026
    Review
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  5. Observational
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.

Bjørn WaagsbøRegional Centre for Disease Control in Central Norway Regional Health Authority, St. Olavs Hospital Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway. bjorn.waagsbo@stolav.no.
Eva Margrethe BusetCentral Norway Hospital Pharmacy Trust, Ålesund, Norway.
Jørn-Åge LongvaDepartment of Medicine, Ålesund Hospital, Møre and Romsdal Hospital Trust, Ålesund, Norway.
Merete BjerkeCentral Norway Hospital Pharmacy Trust, Ålesund, Norway.
Birgitte BakkeneCentral Norway Hospital Pharmacy Trust, Trondheim, Norway.
Anne-Stine ErtesvågCentral Norway Hospital Pharmacy Trust, Ålesund, Norway.
Hanne HolmenCentral Norway Hospital Pharmacy Trust, Trondheim, Norway.
Marko NikodojevicCentral Norway Hospital Pharmacy Trust, Ålesund, Norway.
To Thy TranCentral Norway Hospital Pharmacy Trust, Trondheim, Norway.
Andreas ChristensenDepartment of Microbiology, St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.
Einar NilsenDepartment of Microbiology, Møre and Romsdal Hospital Trust, Ålesund, Norway.
Jan Kristian Damås *Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.
Lars Heggelund *Department of Clinical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
Inland Hospital · NOÅlesund Hospital · NOSt Olav's University Hospital · NOCentral Norway Regional Health Authority · NOUniversity of Bergen · NO

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeStudies on aetiology of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) vary in terms of microbial sampling methods, anatomical locations, and laboratory analyses, since no gold standard exists. In this large, multicentre, retrospective, regional study from Norway, our primary objective was to report the results of a strategic diagnostic stewardship intervention, targeting diagnostic yield from lower respiratory tract sampling. The secondary objective was to report hospitalized CAP aetiology and the diagnostic yield of various anatomical sampling locations.

methodsMedical records from cases diagnosed with hospitalized CAP were collected retrospectively from March throughout May for three consecutive years at six hospitals. Between year one and two, we launched a diagnostic stewardship intervention at the emergency room level for the university teaching hospital only. The intervention was multifaceted aiming at upscaling specimen collection and enhancing collection techniques. Year one at the interventional hospital and every year at the five other emergency hospitals were used for comparison.

resultsOf the 1280 included cases of hospitalized CAP, a microbiological diagnosis was established for 29.1% among 1128 blood cultures and 1444 respiratory tract specimens. Blood cultures were positive for a pathogenic respiratory tract microbe in 4.9% of samples, whereas upper and lower respiratory tract samples overall provided a probable microbiological diagnosis in 21.3% and 47.5%, respectively. Expectorated or induced sputum overall provided aetiology in 51.7% of the samples. At the interventional hospital, the number of expectorated or induced sputum samples were significantly increased, and diagnostic yield from expectorated or induced sputum was significantly enhanced from 41.2 to 62.0% after the intervention (p = 0.049). There was an over-representation of samples from the interventional hospital during the study period. Non-typeable Haemophilus influenza and Streptococcus pneumoniae accounted for 25.3% and 24.7% of microbiologically confirmed cases, respectively.

conclusionExpectorated or induced sputum outperformed other sampling methods in providing a reliable microbiological diagnosis for hospitalized CAP. A diagnostic stewardship intervention significantly improved diagnostic yield of lower respiratory tract sampling.

Indexed as

Community-Acquired InfectionsPneumoniaHumansRetrospective StudiesSputumStreptococcus pneumoniaeAetiologyAntibiotic stewardshipCommunity-acquired pneumoniaDiagnostic stewardshipDiagnostic yieldExpectorated sputumInduced sputumMicrobiologyPneumonia

Identifiers

PMID35236305
PMCPMC8889388
OpenAlexW4220831183

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.