Do cultures contribute to optimisation of antibiotic therapy in the intensive care unit?
Obtaining diagnostic microbiological cultures before initiating empirical antimicrobial therapy is part of the diagnostic work-up of intensive care patients with a clinical suspicion of infection. However, it is unknown to what extent these cultures provide a microbiological cause of infection and to what extent antimicrobial therapy is influenced. During a 6-month period, all episodes of suspected clinical infection were analysed and categorised as non-microbiologically proven infection (non-MPI) or MPI. Effects of culture results on antibiotic therapy were analysed for episodes of respiratory tract infection. Invasive diagnostic techniques were not routinely used for diagnosis of respiratory tract infections. Among 212 patients admitted, 147 episodes of clinical suspicion of infection were recorded (104 for respiratory tract infection) and 1147 microbiological cultures were obtained (0.64 culture per patient day). Antibiotics were administered on 1111 (62%) of 1803 patients days. Of
