A 35-year-old member asked:
What can you do to tell if a chest infection is viral or bacterial?
2 doctor answers • 4 doctors weighed in

Dr. Martin Raffanswered
Infectious Disease 58 years experience
Infection: Culture and various serological testing can often identify the likely organism responsible for infection, and this includes the presence of antigens in urine, sputum and blood as well as antibodies. Often the clinical presentation of the illness will suggest the likely culprit, but proving it definitively may be difficult.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago

A Verified Doctoranswered
A US doctor answeredLearn more
Chest infection : History and clinical examination do guide towards the probable cause , confirmation is possible only after culture of sputum and blood tests .
http://patient.info/health/chest-infection
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
920 viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Last updated Jan 5, 2019
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