Blind Spots of Traditional Microbiological Tests for Severe Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Adults and Availability of Nonculture Techniques: A Nationwide Survey of Physicians in China

Abstract

In China, no national survey has been conducted to evaluate physicians' attitudes and compliance with guidelines in the management of adult patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate physicians' awareness of the use of microbiological tests in the management of severe CAP (SCAP) and to investigate the availability of nonculture tests in China. A nationwide electronic questionnaire survey was conducted among Chinese physicians between March and July 2018, which assessed their viewpoints concerning the issues in the management of SCAP. A total of 6333 physicians completed this survey, evenly covering all career stages. Among these, 3208 (50.6%) and 1936 (30.6%) had blind spots in the application of blood and sputum cultures in the management of SCAP, respectively. Nonteaching hospital, nonrespirologists, and junior career stage were independently associated with misunderstandings. Regarding nonculture methods, 52.7% of the facilities had no access to polymerase chain reaction-based pathogen detection tests. The accessibility of urinary antigen tests for Streptococcus pneumoniae (42.5%) and Legionella pneumophila (38.5%) was also low. The main barriers were inland and remote region, lower hospital level, and nonteaching hospital. Insufficient use of sputum and blood cultures, together with low accessibility of major nonculture techniques, were noticeable barriers to achieving microbiological diagnosis of SCAP in China. To help curb the overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics, further measures should be taken to raise awareness among nonspecialists and promote rapid nonculture tests, especially in nonteaching hospitals and developing regions.