title: Comparison of the BacT/Alert FAN aerobic and the Difco ESP 80A aerobic bottles for pediatric blood cultures.
abstract: We compared the BacT/Alert system using the aerobic FAN bottle with the ESP system using the 80A aerobic bottle for the detection of pediatric bloodstream pathogens at a children's hospital. From 6,636 blood culture sets complying with the inclusion criteria, 308 pathogens were detected, including 177 that were detected by both systems, 69 that were detected by BacT/Alert FAN only, and 62 that were detected by ESP 80A only (P = 0.6; not significant). BacT/Alert FAN detected more isolates of Staphylococcus aureus (47 versus 34; P = 0.02), while ESP 80A detected more episodes of streptococcal and enterococcal infection. BacT/Alert FAN detected more pathogens from patients receiving antibiotic therapy (107 versus 93; P = 0.04). Of 248 separate episodes of bacteremia or fungemia, 146 were detected by both systems, 56 were detected by ESP 80A only, and 46 were detected by BacT/Alert FAN only (P = 0.37; not significant). The median times to detection were 13.6 h for ESP 80A and 15.7 h for BacT/Alert FAN (P < 0.001). Both systems were considered easy to operate and were free from significant mechanical difficulties. False-positive or false-negative signals were rare or nonexistent with both systems. We conclude that both systems rapidly detect a broad range of pediatric bloodstream pathogens. BacT/Alert FAN provides better detection of Staphylococcus aureus, especially from patients receiving antibiotics. ESP 80A provides better detection of streptococci and enterococci.
authors.affiliation: Edward Mallinckrodt Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Welby-Sellenriek
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Keller
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Ferrett
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Storch
mesh_terms: D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*