Campylobacter culture fails to correctly detect Campylobacter in 30% of positive patient stool specimens compared to non-cultural methods. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 2019 Jun;38(6):1087-1093
Date
02/21/2019Pubmed ID
30783889Pubmed Central ID
PMC6520473DOI
10.1007/s10096-019-03499-xScopus ID
2-s2.0-85066051911 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 34 CitationsAbstract
Campylobacter diagnosis is hampered because many laboratories continue to use traditional stool culture, which is slow and suffers false-negative results. This large multi-site study used a composite reference method consisting of a new FDA-cleared immunoassay and four molecular techniques to compare to culture. Prospectively collected patient fecal specimens (1552) were first preliminarily categorized as positive or negative by traditional culture. All specimens were also tested by EIA, and any EIA-positive or culture-discrepant results were further characterized by 16S rRNA qPCR, eight species-specific PCR assays, bidirectional sequencing, and an FDA-cleared multiplex PCR panel. The five non-culture methods showed complete agreement on all positive and discrepant specimens which were then assigned as true-positive or true-negative specimens. Among 47 true-positive specimens, culture incorrectly identified 13 (28%) as negative, and 1 true-negative specimen as positive, for a sensitivity of 72.3%. Unexpectedly, among the true-positive specimens, 4 (8%) were the pathogenic species C. upsaliensis. Culture had a 30% false result rate compared to immunoassay and molecular methods. More accurate results lead to better diagnosis and treatment of suspected campylobacteriosis.
Author List
Buss JE, Cresse M, Doyle S, Buchan BW, Craft DW, Young SAuthor
Blake W. Buchan PhD Professor in the Pathology department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdolescentAdult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Bacteriological Techniques
Campylobacter
Campylobacter Infections
Campylobacter upsaliensis
Child
Child, Preschool
Feces
Female
Humans
Immunoassay
Infant
Male
Middle Aged
Molecular Diagnostic Techniques
Prospective Studies
Sensitivity and Specificity
Young Adult
