title: Survival of fastidious and nonfastidious aerobic bacteria in three bacterial transport swab systems.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Laboratory Division, Caritas Baby Hospital, Bethlehem, West Bank.
authors.forename: Nabeel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rishmawi
authors.forename: Raed
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ghneim
authors.forename: Randa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kattan
authors.forename: Riyad
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ghneim
authors.forename: Madeleine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zoughbi
authors.forename: Afaf
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abu-Diab
authors.forename: Sultan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Turkuman
authors.forename: Rula
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dauodi
authors.forename: Issa
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Shomali
authors.forename: Abed El-Razeq
authors.initials: Ael-R
authors.lastname: Issa
authors.forename: Issa
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Siriani
authors.forename: Hiyam
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Marzouka
authors.forename: Irmgard
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Schmid
authors.forename: Musa Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Hindiyeh
mesh_terms: 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