title: Head-space gas chromatography as a tool in the identification of anaerobic bacteria and diagnosis of anaerobic infections.
abstract: The identification of anaerobic bacteria to the species level can be a laborious and time consuming procedure. Gas chromatography offers a diagnostic aid, and the advantages of the recently introduced head-space gas chromatography technique are: it is rapid, accurate and easy to perform; it provides more information of differential diagnostic value; and the identification process can be automated by connecting the head-space gas chromatograph to an automatic injection unit and a computer which interprets the chromatograms. The head-space technique may be used for direct analyses of clinical specimens for rapid diagnoses of anaerobic infections.
mesh_terms: D000693:Anaerobiosis; D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D001441:Bacteroides fragilis / Q000378:metabolism; D002849:Chromatography, Gas / Q000379:methods*; D003016:Clostridium perfringens / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D010460:Peptococcus / Q000378:metabolism