Table 3 Details of episodes of suspected sepsis with discordant results for blood culture and PCR
Patient | Blood culture (+/−)/PCR (+/−) | Blood culture microorganism | PCR microorganism | BDL cfu Eq/ml | Culture of other sitesa (result + microorganism) | CRP (mg/L) | Duration of treatment (days) | Clinical diagnosis | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | +/− | CoNS | Negative | NA | Tracheal aspirate (Ureaplasma urealyticum + Mycoplasma hominis) | < 2.5 | 6 | Culture-proven sepsis with CoNS |  |
2 | +/− | CoNS | Negative | NA | CSF (negative) Urine (negative) | < 2.5 | 6 | Culture-proven sepsis with CoNS | |
3 | +/− | CoNS | Negative | NA | Blood culture obtained from other site (negative) Urine (negative) | < 2.5 | 7 | Culture-proven sepsis with CoNS | |
4 | +/− | CoNS | Negative | NA | Blood culture (CoNS) CSF (negative) Urine (negative) | < 2.5 | 21 | Culture-proven sepsis with CoNS | |
5 | +/− | CoNS | Negative | NA | CSF (negative) Urine (negative) | < 2.5 | 2 | No infection | |
6 | +/− | CoNS | Negative | NA | CSF (negative) Urine (negative) | 6 | 7 | Culture-proven sepsis with CoNS | |
7 | +/− | CoNS | Negative | NA | CSF (negative) Urine (CoNS) | 4 | 6 | Culture-proven sepsis with CoNS | |
8 | +/− | CoNS | Negative | NA | CSF (negative) Urine (Staphylococcus aureus < 103 + CoNS 103) | < 2.5 | 6 | Culture-proven sepsis with CoNS | |
9 | +/− | CoNS | Negative | NA | CSF (negative) Skin (Candida albicans) | < 2.5 | 9 | Culture-proven sepsis with CoNS | |
10 | +/− | CoNS | Negative | NA | CSF (negative) PCR (negative) | 9 | 10 | Culture-proven sepsis with CoNS | |
11 | +/− | S. aureus | Negative | NA | Pus (S. aureus) | 85 | 13 | Culture-proven sepsis with S. aureus + necrotizing enterocolitis | |
12 | +/− | CoNS | Negative | NA | Blood culture obtained from other site (negative) Tracheal aspirate (Acinetobacter spp.) | 8 | 3 | No infection | |
13 | −/+ | Negative | CoNS | 120 | Blood culture (CoNS) CSF (negative) Urine (negative) | 47 | 7 | Culture-proven sepsis with CoNS | |
14 | −/+ | Negative | S. aureus | Negative | CSF (negative) | 9 | 2 | No infection | |
15 | −/+ | Negative | CoNS | 2585 | Tracheal aspirate (Ureaplasma spp.) | < 2.5 | 2 | No infection | Infant showed clinical signs of infection and umbilical catheters were removed |
16 | −/+ | Negative | Streptococcus agalactiae | 92 | Not obtained | 86 | 14 | Necrotizing enterocolitis (based on feeding problems and imaging) | S. agalactiae is not a usual pathogen in necrotizing enterocolitis but is described in literature [43] |
17 | −/+ | Negative | CoNS | Negative | CSF (negative) Tracheal aspirate (S. aureus + Enterococcus faecalis) Urine (negative) | 16 | 8 | Pneumonia with S. aureus (based on positive sputum culture and breathing difficulties requiring intubation) | Two weeks earlier, positive blood culture with CoNS treated with vancomycin for 7 days |
18 | −/+ | Negative | CoNS | 2255 | CSF (negative) Urine (negative) | < 2.5 | 2 | No infection |  |