Diagnostic yield of stool culture and probable predictive factors: A single-center experience

Mohamad Zaki Alzaher; Abdulelah Abdulrahman  Almugahwi; Ali Abdullah  Almulla; Hashim Hadi  Almeer; Mustafa Mohammed  Alshammasi; Ayman A.  El-Badry

doi:10.23750/abm.v93i6.13428

Diagnostic yield of stool culture and probable predictive factors

A single-center experience

Authors

Mohamad Zaki Alzaher College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0524-7593
Abdulelah Abdulrahman Almugahwi College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8377-5386
Ali Abdullah Almulla College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0007-6713
Hashim Hadi Almeer College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7999-3804
Mustafa Mohammed Alshammasi College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0904-2624
Ayman A. El-Badry Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9673-2622

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23750/abm.v93i6.13428

Keywords:

Stool analysis, stool culture, Pathogens, Gastrointestinal, Antibiotic resistance

Abstract

Background and aim: Stool analysis is commonly performed to diagnose certain gastrointestinal diseases. The diagnostic yield of stool culture, a method of stool analysis, is variable worldwide and is unclear in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This study was conducted to determine the diagnostic yield of stool culture from the year 2008 to 2020 and to determine the predictors for a positive stool culture. Furthermore, antibiotic susceptibility patterns of the detected copro-pathogens in the same time period were collected and studied.

Methods: This is a retrospective case-control study in which patients’ data was collected from the hospital’s electronic health record. The results of all stool analyses performed from 2008 to 2020 and associated patients’ characteristics were collected. Characteristics of cases with a positive stool culture were compared to the characteristics of those without to identify the predictors for positive stool cultures.

Results: Copro-pathogens were detected in 89.4% of cultured stool samples. Salmonella spp (1590/1775, 89.6%) was the most common organism followed by Shigella spp. (84/1775, 4.7%) and Campylobacter spp (45/1775, 2.5%). Male sex, the 1-5 age group, positive fecal occult blood test results, and positive stool leukocyte test results were associated with a positive stool culture result. Cultured copro-pathogens were highly sensitive to Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole and Ampicillin.

Conclusions: Stool analysis was found to be a test of high diagnostic yield. However, there is still a need for more studies on this subject with a focus on possible predictive factors for specific organisms.

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