Microbiological Diagnosis of Empyema in Children: Comparative Evaluations by Culture, Polymerase Chain Reaction, and Pneumococcal Antigen Detection in Pleural Fluids

Abstract

Pneumococcal antigen detection in pleural fluid specimens from children provides a rapid and sensitive method of diagnosis of pneumococcal empyema, which can be confirmed by specific pneumolysin PCR when culture results are negative. Broad-range 16S rDNA PCR has value in detecting bacterial agents responsible for culture-negative pleural empyema.