[Bacteriological examination of bronchial aspirates obtained via fiberoptic bronchoscopy]

We present the bacteriological findings in 329 aspirates from fiberoptic bronchoscopy. Quantitative cultures were not performed. 92 of the patients had radiologically confirmed pneumonia, 58 possibly had infectious bronchitis or pneumonia which was not verified radiologically, 154 had other pulmonary diseases and 25 had no verified pulmonary disease. 13% of aspirates contained no bacterial isolates and 33% revealed growth of multiple bacteria, classified as "normal pharyngeal flora". Among the 54% with specified bacterial findings the most frequent bacteria were viridans streptococci, staphylococci, Haemophilus influenzae, and Streptococcus pneumoniae. The differences in bacterial flora between the patient groups were only minimal. Klebsiella and Escherichia coli were the only bacteria indicating presence of pneumonia. S pneumoniae were found more frequently among patients with no signs of infection. Bronchial aspirates obtained with a fiberbronchoscope may give false positive results and are of limited value in diagnosing pneumonia. However, the presence of gram negative intestinal rods may indicate bacterial respiratory infection in hospitalized patients. Improving sampling and culture techniques can possibly improve the value of bacteriological findings.