The value of upper airway cultures in cystic fibrosis
| Authors | Swab type | Comparison sample | Age range (mean) | Pathogen | Sensitivity | Specificity | PPV | NPV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ramsey et al25 | Throat | BAL | 4 months–25 years (8.2 years) | Pseudomonas aeruginosa Staphylococcus aureus Haemophilus influenza | 56% 54% 11% | 93 100% 87% | NS | NS |
| Armstrong et al38 | Throat | BAL | 1–52 months (17 months) | Pseudomonas aeruginosa Staphylococcus aureus Haemophilus influenza | 71% 86% 92% | 93% 61% 92% | 57% 33% 50% | 96% 95% 99% |
| Rosenfeld et al48 | Throat | BAL | 1<18 months 2>18 months | Pseudomonas aeruginosa Staphylococcus aureus Haemophilus influenza | 1. 44% 2. 68% 1. 80% 2. 73% 1. 81% 2. 55% | 1. 95% 2. 94% 1. 70% 2. 71% 1. 95% 2. 92% | 1. 44% 2. 76% 1. 64% 2. 59% 1. 81% 2. 50% | 1. 95% 2. 91% 1. 88% 2. 82% 1. 95% 2. 93% |
| Burns et al34 | Throat | BAL | 2.5–15.5 months (11.4 months) | Pseudomonas aeruginosa | NS | NS | 69% | 95% |
| Equi et al39 | Cough | Sputum | Adults | NS | 34% | 100% | 100% | 21% |
| Jung et al6 | Throat | BAL | 5.2–34.2 years (14.2 years) | Pseudomonas aeruginosa | 35.7 | 96.2 | 83.3 | 73.5 |
| Kabra et al12 | 1. Cough 2. Throat | Sputum | 6.37–8.5 years (7.2 years) | Pseudomonas aeruginosa Staphylococcus aureus | 1. 42% 2. 40% 1. 50% 2. 57% | 1. 100% 2. 99% 1. 99% 2. 99% | NS | NS |
| Maiya et al49 | Cough a. Moist b. Dry | Sputum | 8–16 years | NS | a. 35% b. 35% | NS | NS | NS |
| Chavasse et al50 | Cough | Sputum | NS | NS | 41% | NS | NS | NS |
BAL, bronchoalveolar lavage; NPV, negative predictive value; NS, not stated; PPV, positive predictive value.