BACKGROUND Semi-quantitative Gram stain and culture methods are still commonly used for diagnosing ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), due to its convenience. Only a few studies, however, have assessed the reliability of these methods when compared with quantitative cultures, a current standard for the diagnosis of VAP. The objective of this study was to assess the utility of semi-quantitati...

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) remains one the most commonly employed forms of chronic renal replacement therapy. Intermittent peritoneal dialysis (IPD) is an economical form of PD that uses multiple short exchanges of dialysate on an intermittent basis. Peritonitis is a common clinical problem that occurs in patients undergoing PD. However, no local data exist regarding the clinical profile of perit...

For febrile neutropenic patients who received hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, the Gram stain-acridine orange leukocyte cytospin (AOLC) test and the differential-time-to-positivity method (DTP) were performed. As a diagnostic tool for catheter-related bloodstream infections in these patients, the Gram stain-AOLC test has a lower sensitivity than does the DTP method but acceptable positi...

BACKGROUND Although cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture is the diagnostic reference standard for bacterial meningitis, its sensitivity is limited, particularly when antibiotics were previously administered. CSF Gram staining and real-time PCR are theoretically less affected by antibiotics; however, it is difficult to evaluate these tests with an imperfect reference standard. METHODS AND FINDING...

To cite: Kamata K, Tokuda Y. BMJ Case Rep Published online: [please include Day Month Year] doi:10.1136/bcr-2013202876 DESCRIPTION Microscopic stool examination by Gram stain is useful for rapid diagnosis and treatment of Campylobacter infection in patients with acute onset diarrhoea. A 69-year-old Japanese woman with pernicious anaemia presented with a 3-day history of fever and watery diarrho...

It has been shown previously (Kennedy and Barbaro, 1953) that the amount of crystal violet adsorbed by bacteria can be measured quantitatively by either one of two procedures. One procedure involved micro-Kjeldahl analyses of bacterial cells before and after staining. The increase in total nitrogen in the stained cells represented the dye nitrogen adsorbed. The second procedure was based on mic...

The role for laboratory interpretation of microbiologic results remains controversial, and many laboratories leave the interpretation of culture results entirely to physicians. We examined the effects of furnishing a laboratory interpretation of sputum quality on physician decision making. Quality of sputum was determined on Gram-stained smears by using a modification of the criteria of Bartlet...

The fluorescent nucleic acid binding dyes hexidium iodide (HI) and SYTO 13 were used in combination as a Gram stain for unfixed organisms in suspension. HI penetrated gram-positive but not gram-negative organisms, whereas SYTO 13 penetrated both. When the dyes were used together, gram-negative organisms were rendered green fluorescent by SYTO 13; conversely, gram-positive organisms were rendere...

When blood cultures turn positive, the attending physicians are usually notified immediately about Gram stain findings. However, information on the accuracy of Gram staining is very limited. We examined the accuracy of preliminary blood culture reports provided by a regional laboratory in an observational study including the years 1996, 2000 to 2001, and 2003. We used data from computer files a...