Lung Puncture in the Etiological Diagnosis of Pneumonia

Needle aspiration of the lung was performed in 543 patients: 505 infants less than 2 years of age, with bronchopneumonia but without empyema; 25 older children with lobar consolidation; and 13 infants without pulmonary disease. Positive cultures were obtained from 228 (45.1%) lung punctures in the 505 infants. The yield of positive cultures was 56.8% in the 160 infants who had not received antibiotics previously. Opportunist bacteria of ordinarily low virulence were more frequently found in infants with severe malnutrition. Lung puncture was positive in 28% of older children and negative in the 13 infants without pneumonia.Staphylococcus aureuswas the most commonly encountered pathogen. The organism isolated from lung was found in the upper-respiratory tract in only 10% to 20% of cases. No complications were encountered in 530 patients (97.6%), and all infants with complications recovered. Deaths did not appear related directly to the lung puncture procedure.