Contribution of rapid diagnostic test in the treatment of infectious diseases.

According to aging of population and medical progress, the risk and mortality rate of pneumonia have been increased. In the causative organism inspection, smear-culture examination of sputum is the gold standard. When it is difficult to obtain high quality sputum and to culture the causative organism, or when antibiotics are previously administered, we have no choice but to start the treatment with pathogenic bacteria unknown. In these cases, it is necessary to select an appropriate test method for expecting pathogen. If bacteria are detected in laboratory culture, it is difficult to distinguish whether it is a causative or colonizers. Future development is expected in rapid diagnostic methods.