RT Journal
A1 Newman TB, Kohn MA
T1 UNiversal primer polymerase chain reaction looks promising for newborns with low pretest probability of sepsis
JF Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
JO Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
YR 2009
FD July 6
VO 163
IS 7
SP 675
OP 676
DO 10.1001/archpediatrics.2009.121
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpediatrics.2009.121
AB 
Dutta et al1 reported impressive results using universal primer 16S rRNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to diagnose sepsis among 242 patients in a level III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). However, because 2 of 52 bacteremic patients (4%) had falsely negative results, DeCamp et al,2 in the accompanying commentary, were unenthusiastic, concluding that “universal PCR is still not accurate enough to justify withholding antibiotic therapy in neonates being evaluated for sepsis.”