Determination and Comparison of the Pathogen Spectrum Evaluated by Microbial Culture and Multiplex PCR During Bronchoscopy with Regard to Clinical Utility of Routine Bronchial Wash in Patients with Various Pulmonary Diseases

<b>Background/Objectives:</b> Bronchial wash for microbiological cultivation and/or multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is often routinely performed during bronchoscopy independent of the indication for bronchoscopy. This study aimed to determine and compare the pathogen spectrum e...

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Main Authors: Christopher Milacek, Christina Bal, Peter Starzengruber, Sonja Zehetmayer, Marco Idzko, Daniela Gompelmann
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
Series:Diagnostics
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/15/4/469
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author Christopher Milacek
Christina Bal
Peter Starzengruber
Sonja Zehetmayer
Marco Idzko
Daniela Gompelmann
author_facet Christopher Milacek
Christina Bal
Peter Starzengruber
Sonja Zehetmayer
Marco Idzko
Daniela Gompelmann
author_sort Christopher Milacek
collection DOAJ
description <b>Background/Objectives:</b> Bronchial wash for microbiological cultivation and/or multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is often routinely performed during bronchoscopy independent of the indication for bronchoscopy. This study aimed to determine and compare the pathogen spectrum evaluated by culture and PCR in bronchial secretion samples with regard to the underlying lung pathology. <b>Methods:</b> In this retrospective analysis, microbiological results from bronchial washes performed from February 2022 to September 2022 were collected in 245 patients (48.2% male, mean age 63.0 ± 13.9 years). Samples were assessed for bacteria/fungi culture and reported depending on the underlying pathology. Additional PCR was performed in 216 patients and compared to the results of the culture. <b>Results:</b> Cultivation and PCR revealed positive results in 20% and 24.5% of the cases, respectively. Microbiological culture most likely revealed a positive result in patients with hemoptysis (44.4%) and pulmonary infections (29.6%) among various indications for bronchoscopy, and PCR most likely identified a pathogen in patients with hemoptysis (66.7%) and COPD (36.4%). Active smoking and an increased CRP were revealed as significant predictors for a positive culture (<i>p</i> < 0.0001 and <i>p</i> = 0.021). The concordance rate between culture and PCR for identifying pathogenic microorganisms was 84.3%, resulting in a moderate agreement (kappa coefficient 0.54 [95% CI: 0.34–0.68]). <b>Conclusion:</b> PCR and culture moderately agreed, showing additional PCR testing only to be beneficial if restricted to proper indications, providing rapid diagnosis and therefore leading to immediate therapeutic decisions.
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spelling doaj-art-bd73b8ff828748dc9a8700276ee86e6c2025-08-20T02:44:56ZengMDPI AGDiagnostics2075-44182025-02-0115446910.3390/diagnostics15040469Determination and Comparison of the Pathogen Spectrum Evaluated by Microbial Culture and Multiplex PCR During Bronchoscopy with Regard to Clinical Utility of Routine Bronchial Wash in Patients with Various Pulmonary DiseasesChristopher Milacek0Christina Bal1Peter Starzengruber2Sonja Zehetmayer3Marco Idzko4Daniela Gompelmann5Division of Pulmonology, Department of Internal Medicine II, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, AustriaDivision of Pulmonology, Department of Internal Medicine II, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, AustriaDivision for Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, AustriaCenter for Medical Data Science, Institute of Medical Statistics, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, AustriaDivision of Pulmonology, Department of Internal Medicine II, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, AustriaDivision of Pulmonology, Department of Internal Medicine II, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria<b>Background/Objectives:</b> Bronchial wash for microbiological cultivation and/or multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is often routinely performed during bronchoscopy independent of the indication for bronchoscopy. This study aimed to determine and compare the pathogen spectrum evaluated by culture and PCR in bronchial secretion samples with regard to the underlying lung pathology. <b>Methods:</b> In this retrospective analysis, microbiological results from bronchial washes performed from February 2022 to September 2022 were collected in 245 patients (48.2% male, mean age 63.0 ± 13.9 years). Samples were assessed for bacteria/fungi culture and reported depending on the underlying pathology. Additional PCR was performed in 216 patients and compared to the results of the culture. <b>Results:</b> Cultivation and PCR revealed positive results in 20% and 24.5% of the cases, respectively. Microbiological culture most likely revealed a positive result in patients with hemoptysis (44.4%) and pulmonary infections (29.6%) among various indications for bronchoscopy, and PCR most likely identified a pathogen in patients with hemoptysis (66.7%) and COPD (36.4%). Active smoking and an increased CRP were revealed as significant predictors for a positive culture (<i>p</i> < 0.0001 and <i>p</i> = 0.021). The concordance rate between culture and PCR for identifying pathogenic microorganisms was 84.3%, resulting in a moderate agreement (kappa coefficient 0.54 [95% CI: 0.34–0.68]). <b>Conclusion:</b> PCR and culture moderately agreed, showing additional PCR testing only to be beneficial if restricted to proper indications, providing rapid diagnosis and therefore leading to immediate therapeutic decisions.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/15/4/469bronchial washclinical utilityPCRmicrobial culturepathogen spectrumpulmonary infection
spellingShingle Christopher Milacek
Christina Bal
Peter Starzengruber
Sonja Zehetmayer
Marco Idzko
Daniela Gompelmann
Determination and Comparison of the Pathogen Spectrum Evaluated by Microbial Culture and Multiplex PCR During Bronchoscopy with Regard to Clinical Utility of Routine Bronchial Wash in Patients with Various Pulmonary Diseases
Diagnostics
bronchial wash
clinical utility
PCR
microbial culture
pathogen spectrum
pulmonary infection
title Determination and Comparison of the Pathogen Spectrum Evaluated by Microbial Culture and Multiplex PCR During Bronchoscopy with Regard to Clinical Utility of Routine Bronchial Wash in Patients with Various Pulmonary Diseases
title_full Determination and Comparison of the Pathogen Spectrum Evaluated by Microbial Culture and Multiplex PCR During Bronchoscopy with Regard to Clinical Utility of Routine Bronchial Wash in Patients with Various Pulmonary Diseases
title_fullStr Determination and Comparison of the Pathogen Spectrum Evaluated by Microbial Culture and Multiplex PCR During Bronchoscopy with Regard to Clinical Utility of Routine Bronchial Wash in Patients with Various Pulmonary Diseases
title_full_unstemmed Determination and Comparison of the Pathogen Spectrum Evaluated by Microbial Culture and Multiplex PCR During Bronchoscopy with Regard to Clinical Utility of Routine Bronchial Wash in Patients with Various Pulmonary Diseases
title_short Determination and Comparison of the Pathogen Spectrum Evaluated by Microbial Culture and Multiplex PCR During Bronchoscopy with Regard to Clinical Utility of Routine Bronchial Wash in Patients with Various Pulmonary Diseases
title_sort determination and comparison of the pathogen spectrum evaluated by microbial culture and multiplex pcr during bronchoscopy with regard to clinical utility of routine bronchial wash in patients with various pulmonary diseases
topic bronchial wash
clinical utility
PCR
microbial culture
pathogen spectrum
pulmonary infection
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/15/4/469
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