Blood Cultures Help Assess Selected Children With Pneumonia

Major Finding: Children with community-acquired pneumonia seen in the emergency department of an urban pediatric hospital had a 2% rate of positive blood cultures, but the prevalence of positive cultures increased among the subset of patients with pneumonia-related complications, especially pulmonary complications.

Data Source: Review of 291 children evaluated and cultured in the emergency department of a single medical center with a discharge diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia during 2006 and 2007.

Disclosures: Ms. Dugan and Dr. Shah said they had no relevant financial disclosures.