Sputum Quality Assessment as a Useful Tool for Distinguishing True Pathogensfrom Colonizing Flora

Background Sputum quality assessment is an important tool that aids in distinguishing true pathogens responsible for respiratory tract infections. This study was done to assess the quality of sputum samples by Bartlettrsquos grading system and use it as a tool to distinguish true pathogens from oropharyngeal colonizers.Methods This was an observational prospective study in which a total of 92 sputum samples from the adult patients admitted in a tertiary care hospital suspected with lower respiratory tract infections LRTIrsquos over a period of one year were analyzed. The quality of all samples was judged using the Bartlettrsquos criteria.Results Out of 92 samples 40 43.4 were found to contain potential pathogens 25 62.5 of these samples were deemed acceptable while the remaining 15 37.5 samples were considered unacceptable. The potential pathogens that were obtained from patients having LRTIrsquos were Pseudomonas aeruginosa 14 34.1 Klebsiella pneumoniae 10 25 Acinetobacter baumanii 8 19.5 Streptococcus pneumoniae 5 13 Escherichia coli 2 4.9 and Staphylococcus aureus 1 2.4.Conclusion The results of this study showed that sputum quality assessment by scoring system Gram stain and culture put together forms an integral part of diagnosing patients with suspected clinically relevant LRTIrsquos subsequently leading to better management of these cases.