Comparative evaluation of BACTEC aerobic Plus/F and Septi-Chek Release blood culture media.
The BACTEC 9240 (Becton Dickinson, Sparks, Md.) automated blood culture system is based on the continuous monitoring of CO2 production by means of a fluorescent sensor attached to the bottom of culture vials. We compared the performance of the BACTEC aerobic Plus/F medium to that of the Septi-Chek Release medium (Becton Dickinson, Sparks, Md.), a manual biphasic blood culture system. Sets consisting of BACTEC aerobic Plus/F and Septi-Chek Release vials inoculated with similar volumes (7 +/- 2 ml) were evaluated. In the laboratory, systems were equipped and analyzed according to the manufacturer's recommendations. The BACTEC and Septi-Chek vials were incubated at 35 degrees C for 5 days. A total of 6,116 compliant sets were obtained from 1,972 adult patients (3.1 cultures per patient). Of these, 731 (12%) were culture positive, including 612 (10%) that yielded at least one pathogen, and 143 (2%) were considered to be contaminated. Of the 672 pathogenic organisms detected, 524 were isolated from the BACTEC aerobic Plus/F medium and 574 were isolated from the Septi-Chek Release medium, 428 organisms grew in both media, 96 organisms grew only in the BACTEC aerobic Plus/F medium, and 146 organisms grew only in the Septi-Chek Release medium (P = 0.001). Haemophilus spp. were isolated more often (P = 0.03) from the BACTEC aerobic Plus/F medium; however, more Streptococcus anginosus organisms (P = 0.02), members of the Enterobacteriaceae family (P < 0.03), and gram-negative anaerobes (P = 0.03) were isolated from the Septi-Chek Release medium. Pathogenic organisms were detected significantly earlier (P < 0.0001) with the BACTEC aerobic Plus/F medium in conjunction with the BACTEC 9240 instrument than with the Septi-Chek Release medium.
Rohner
P
P
Laboratoire Central de Bactériologie, Hôpital Cantonal Universitaire de Genève, Switzerland. rohner@dminov1.hcuge.ch
Pepey
B
B
Auckenthaler
R
R
D000328:Adult; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000175:diagnosis; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001769:Blood / Q000382:microbiology*; D003470:Culture Media; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D016469:Fungemia / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D018805:Sepsis / Q000175:diagnosis*
D003470:Culture Media