title: Comparison of recovery rates for mycobacteria from BACTEC 12B vials, Middlebrook 7H11-selective 7H11 biplates, and Lowenstein Jensen slants in a public health mycobacteriology laboratory.
abstract: Recovery rates from Middlebrook 7H11-selective 7H11 biplates and Lowenstein-Jensen slants (LJ) used with BACTEC 12B vials were compared for 5,399 specimens. For 578 specimens that were inoculated onto three media, 580 mycobacteria were isolated, including 277 (48%) Mycobacterium avium complex isolates, 230 (40%) Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates, and 73 (12%) other mycobacteria. For BACTEC 12B vials, 506 (87%) cultures were positive, 45 (8%) were negative, and 29 (5%) were lost to contamination; for 7H11-7H11-selective biplates, 469 (81%) cultures were positive, 95 (16%) were negative, and 16 (3%) were lost to contamination; for LJ, 230 (40%) cultures were positive, 111 (19%) were negative, and 239 (41%) were lost to contamination. For routine cultures, use of plate media is superior to use of LJ.
mesh_terms: D001431:Bacteriological Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation; D003470:Culture Media; D007755:Laboratories, Hospital / Q000592:standards; D009161:Mycobacterium / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009162:Mycobacterium avium / Q000254:growth & development; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000254:growth & development
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media