Diagnostic Stewardship of Endotracheal Aspirate Cultures in Hospitalized Children With Artificial Airways: Expert Consensus Statements From the BrighT STAR (Testing STewardship for Antibiotic Reduction) Respiratory Collaborative

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39945582/ An AHRQ-funded project from the BrighT STAR collaborative developed a series of 37 clinical practice statements to consider before, during and after collection of endotracheal aspirate cultures from hospitalized children with artificial airways. Developed through consensus by 38 experts, these practices outline key practices, including preparation before deciding to obtain cultures, clinical indications for obtaining cultures and scenarios in which to avoid obtaining them, methods for specimen collection, and interpretation of culture results. Designed to apply to endotracheal aspirate culture practices among most pediatric inpatients with artificial airways, these clinical practice statements support the creation of clinical decision tools and serve as a starting point for stewardship programs that seek to optimize diagnostic test use. Access the abstract in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine