In pediatric clinical settings, selective media are used in conjunction with other diagnostic tools to accurately identify pathogens. For example, a throat swab from a child with a sore throat may be cultured on selective media to identify Streptococcus pyogenes, the bacterium responsible for strep throat. Similarly, urine samples from children with suspected urinary tract infections are often cultured on MacConkey Agar to identify Gram-negative bacteria.
