Evaluation of semi-quantitative compared to quantitative cultures of tracheal aspirates for the yield of culturable respiratory pathogens - a cross-sectional study.

In conclusion, there is a strong agreement between the performances of both methods of processing ETSA cultures in terms of accuracy of LRTI diagnosis. Semi-quantitative cultures of ETSA yielded more pathogens as compared to quantitative cultures. Although both techniques were comparable, we recommend processing of ETSA using semi-quantitative technique due to its ease and reduced processing time.