Discrimination of Streptococcus pneumoniae from other upper respiratory tract streptococci by arbitrarily primed PCR

Objectives: In the clinical laboratory, identification of Streptococcus pneumoniae can be confused with other streptococci. Conventional biochemical tests such as optochin sensitivity and bile solubility can give inconsistent results. This report presents a method to distinguish true S. pneumoniae from other upper respiratory tract streptococci when conventional tests fail.