Clinical and microbiological features of suspect sporadic food poisoning cases presenting to an accident and emergency department.

: During a five-month period all patients presenting to an inner-city accident and emergency department with suspected food poisoning were assessed for relevant clinical and microbiological features. There were 102 patients in the study period (0.3% of all attendances). Fifty-two stool samples were processed and 11 were culture positive (21% of those sampled, 11% of all cases). The two commonest organisms were Campylobacter (6) and Salmonella (4). A logistic regression analysis showed that, of the continuous variables, a higher temperature (odds ratio [OR] 2.72, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.36 to 5.46) was predictive of stool culture positivity, and age was negatively predictive (OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.78 to 0.98). Of the dichotomous variables only a history of fever (OR 3.94, 95% CI 1.07 to 14.5) was predictive of stool culture positivity. The presence of nausea (OR 0.11, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.43) or vomiting (OR 0.22, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.80), and the absence of abdominal tenderness, had a negative predictive value for stool culture positivity. No patient without a history of abdominal pain and diarrhoea had a positive stool culture.