Survival of fastidious and nonfastidious aerobic bacteria in three bacterial transport swab systems.
In the present study, we followed the CLSI procedure M40-A to evaluate three specimen transport systems [the new BD CultureSwab MaxV(+), the new Remel BactiSwab, and the Medical Wire & Equipment Transwab] for the survival of fastidious and nonfastidious organisms for 0, 6, 24, and 48 h at room temperature. BD CultureSwab MaxV(+) outperformed the other two swabs for the recovery of the three fastidious organisms, Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Neisseria meningitidis for up to 48 h. Indeed, BD CultureSwab MaxV(+) maintained a constant number of viable H. influenzae and N. meningitidis for up to 48 h, and only a 2 log reduction was noted for N. gonorrhoeae, fulfilling the requirements of M40-A guidelines. However, unlike Remel BactiSwab and the Medical Wire & Equipment Transwab, which fulfilled the M40-A requirements for maintaining the viability of Streptococcus pneumoniae, BD CultureSwab MaxV(+) could not maintain the viability of S. pneumoniae reference or clinical strains past 6 h. Excellent overall sensitivity (98%) (95% confidence interval, 89.5 to 99.7) was observed when the BD CultureSwab MaxV(+) rectal swabs were compared to the "gold standard" stool cultures. Thus, the BD CultureSwab MaxV(+) rectal swab can be used when investigating gastrointestinal bacterial outbreaks or when health care providers face difficulties in obtaining stool samples, particularly from children.
Rishmawi
Nabeel
N
Clinical Laboratory Division, Caritas Baby Hospital, Bethlehem, West Bank.
Ghneim
Raed
R
Kattan
Randa
R
Ghneim
Riyad
R
Zoughbi
Madeleine
M
Abu-Diab
Afaf
A
Turkuman
Sultan
S
Dauodi
Rula
R
Shomali
Issa
I
Issa
Abed El-Razeq
Ael-R
Siriani
Issa
I
Marzouka
Hiyam
H
Schmid
Irmgard
I
Hindiyeh
Musa Y
MY
D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D006193:Haemophilus influenzae / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D050296:Microbial Viability; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae / Q000502:physiology; D009345:Neisseria meningitidis / Q000502:physiology; D012007:Rectum / Q000382:microbiology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000379:methods*; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000502:physiology; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors