Rapid diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia using the BacT/Alert 3D system

We compared BacT/Alert 3D with conventional culture for the diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of the isolates was performed with the disk diffusion method, and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was calculated. Automation was superior in terms of recovery and time to detect pathogens. The bacterial spectrum in CAP was Streptococcus pneumoniae (35.3%) Staphylococcus aureus (23.5%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (20.5%) and Haemophilus influenzae (8.8%). Three of the 12 S. pneumoniae isolates showed penicillin resistance on MIC and two showed erythromycin resistance. There were two H. influenzae strains resistant to penicillin; these were beta lactamase producers. One-fourth of the S. aureus were oxacillin resistant. All isolates were sensitive to cefepime by disc diffusion and MIC methods. In the treatment of CAP, cefotaxime and cefepime are useful drugs when given as empirical therapy against multidrug resistant strains. The use of automation is vital in CAP, as rapid diagnosis and effective therapy can reduce mortality.