ArticleCureus2026
Clinical Utility of Intracellular Organisms in Gram-Stained Sputum Among Patients With Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Pneumonia.
Article in Cureus, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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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.
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7 authors.
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Abstract
introductionSputum cultures may detect bacteria that are not the true causative pathogens of pneumonia. Gram-stained sputum has demonstrated utility in the diagnosis and treatment of pneumonia. Gap statement: However, the clinical significance of intracellular organisms (ICOs) observed in Gram-stained sputum has not been fully elucidated.
aimThis study aimed to evaluate whether the presence of ICOs morphologically consistent with METHODOLOGY: A retrospective matched case-control study was conducted between January 2010 and December 2022. Patients who underwent sputum smear and culture testing at Chiba University Hospital were included.
resultsOf the 1,075 patients who underwent sputum testing, 65 patients with ICO were identified and matched 1:1 with 65 patients without ICO for analysis. Among these, 30 patients (46.2%) in the ICO-positive group were diagnosed with MRSA pneumonia, compared with 21 patients (32.3%) in the ICO-negative group. The risk difference was 13.9% (bootstrapped 95% CI -3.8% to 30.5%), and the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.15). Furthermore, among patients with pneumonia, the presence of ICO was not associated with a statistically significant difference in the clinical outcomes of anti-MRSA therapy (p = 0.32; bootstrapped 95% CI, -0.434 to 0.292).
conclusionThe presence of ICOs in sputum samples was not significantly associated with MRSA pneumonia and may have limited utility in predicting the clinical response to anti-MRSA therapy.
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