Bactec plus f

A total of 364 positive blood culture broths from non-duplicated patients with suspected sepsis were collected from January 2014 to May 2014 at four public acute hospitals located at different district areas across Hong Kong, namely 1,633 bed Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital (PYNEH), 1,753 bed Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH), 1,403 bed United Christian Hospital (UCH) and 1,702 bed Queen Mary Hospital (QMH). Bactec plus/F (Becton Dickson, US) aerobic culture bottles were used in all the study sites except for PMH where the BacT/Alert FA (bioMerieux, France) system was used. The bottles were incubated in the corresponding automated blood culture system until positive within five days. Upon broth positivity, samples from PYNEH, PMH and UCH were sent to The Hong Kong Polytechnic University for the Verigene Blood Culture Test within 24 hours. If the samples could not be run within 24 hours, they were stored at 4°C for up to 48 hours. For QMH, after flagging positive by the blood culture system, the samples were almost processed immediately with BC-GP or BC-GN tests using another Verigene system established in their laboratory.

Patients’ blood were collected and transferred to blood culture bottles (Bactec plus/F; Becton Dickinson, Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA), which were incubated in the Bactec system (Becton Dickinson Diagnostic Instrument Systems, NJ) until a positive result was obtained or for a maximum of 10 days. The isolates were identified based on Gram-negative coccobacilli, urease and oxidase positivity and positive agglutination with specific antiserum.

Blood culture bottles from suspected sepsis patients were collected from December 2012 to June 2013 at the 801 bed National Center for Global Health and Medicine (NCGM), from February to June 2013 at 572 bed NCGM Kohnodai Hospital, and from March to June 2013 at 1423 bed Tokyo Women's Medical University (TWMU) hospital. Bactec plus/F (Becton Dickinson) and BacT/Alert FA (bioMérieux, Tokyo, Japan) blood culture bottles were used at NCGM and TWMU, respectively. Of 102 clinical samples, 79 and 23 were collected at NCGM and TWMU, respectively. Hospital departments and wards were not specified in the study. The bottles were incubated in the automated blood culture system until positive. Positive blood cultures showing Gram-negative bacteria were tested with the BC-GN assay. To select samples containing organisms listed in the BC-GN panel, positive blood cultures were stored at room temperature and tested within 5 days of positivity. The average of storage periods was 3.1±1.4. Only one positive blood culture per patient was included in the study.