Correlation between Sputum and Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid Cultures

A correlation study of the cultured bacteria from paired sputum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples was performed. The rates of concordant culture-positive paired specimens that were isolated within 1 or 7 days were 93.7% and 96.5%, respectively, suggesting that the culture of readily collectable sputum specimens may result in useful microbiologic diagnosis.