Table 3.
Cultures performed.
| Type of culturea | Culture-negative patients (n = 415) | Culture-positive patients (n = 586) | P value | Rate of culture positivity (%)b |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blood | 410 (98.8) | 579 (98.8) | 1.00 | 20.3 |
| Urine | 310 (74.7) | 445 (75.9) | 0.65 | 11.0 |
| Endotracheal aspirate | 216 (52.0) | 332 (56.7) | 0.15 | 39.4 |
| Expectorated sputum | 101 (24.3) | 146 (24.9) | 0.84 | 34.8 |
| Bronchoalveolar lavage | 24 (5.8) | 32 (5.5) | 0.83 | 51.7 |
| Pleural fluid | 12 (2.9) | 14 (2.4) | 0.62 | 14.8 |
| Stool | 43 (10.4) | 74 (12.6) | 0.27 | 4.2 |
| Peritoneal fluid | 9 (2.2) | 22 (3.8) | 0.15 | 20.6 |
| Bile | 0 (0) | 6 (1.0) | 0.045 | 83.3 |
| Liver abscess | 0 (0) | 7 (1.2) | 0.046 | 85.7 |
| Other abscess | 1 (0.2) | 3 (0.5) | 0.65 | 60.0 |
| Soft tissue and skin | 9 (2.2) | 36 (6.1) | 0.003 | 65.5 |
| Cerebrospinal fluid | 8 (1.9) | 8 (1.4) | 0.48 | 12.5 |
| Synovial fluid | 1 (0.2) | 5 (0.9) | 0.41 | 88.9 |
| Others | 6 (1.4) | 14 (2.4) | 0.29 | 56.5 |
aCultures collected within two days before and the two days after ICU admission were included; bcalculated as (total number of positive cultures divided by total number of cultures performed) × 100. ICU, intensive care unit.