Table 2.

Comparison of microbiological documentation obtained by conventional techniques versus rm-PCR in 159 pneumonia episodes

Pathogen identification	Conventional techniques	rm-PCR
Targets included in the rm-PCR panel
Gram-negative bacilli
Escherichia coli	24	33
Pseudomonas aeruginosa	23	28
Enterobacter cloacae complex	13	22
Klebsiella pneumoniae group	13	14
Haemophilus influenzae	11	33
Acinetobacter calcoaceticus-baumannii complex	3	4
Enterobacter aerogenes	5	7
Serratia marcescens	3	5
Proteus spp.	2	8
Moraxella catarrhalis	1	5
Klebsiella oxytoca	1	5
Gram-positive cocci
Staphylococcus aureus	26	42
Streptococcus pneumoniae	8	16
Streptococcus pyogenes	0	0
Streptococcus agalactiae	0	0
Atypical bacteria
Legionella pneumophila	1	1
Mycoplasma pneumoniae	0	1
Chlamydophila pneumoniae	0	0
Resistance
mecA		5
CTX-M		11
Targets not included in the rm-PCR panel
Stenotrophomonas maltophilia	4	–
Morganella morganii	3	–
Raoultella ornithinolytica	3	–
Citrobacter sp.	4	–
Hafnia	1
Others*	11	–

Conventional techniques include culture for all pathogens presented, apart from Legionella pneumophila which was detected using molecular techniques

rm-PCR real-time multiplex polymerase chain reaction

*Acinetobacter junii (n = 1), Actinomyces odontolyticus (n = 1), Corynebacterium sp. (n = 1), coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (n = 4), Enterococcus faecium (n = 1), Enterococcus faecalis (n = 6), Lactobacillus reuteri (n = 1), Streptococcus alpha (n = 1), Streptococcus pseudopneumoniae (n = 1)