Assessment of the Usefulness of Sputum Culture for Diagnosis of Community-Acquired Pneumonia Using the PORT Predictive Scoring System

Abstract

Good-quality sputum with PM could be obtained in only 14.4% of all patients. A PORT-score group in which sputum could be of greater usefulness in identifying the causative organism could not be identified. The presence of gram-positive diplococci in gram-stained sputum culture was highly specific for S pneumoniae.