Is a Distal Lung Specimen a Better Idea?

A study of baboons with ARDS found similar quantities of germs from the proximal and distal respiratory tract. The concordance between what was recovered was dramatically better between distal lung specimens and proximal lung specimens. And so I think for things like Pseudomonas or some of these non-fermaning gram negative pathogens in people with really structurally abnormal lungs, a lot of these are polyclonal infections.