Direct identification of bacterial isolates in blood cultures by using a DNA probe (original) (raw)

1991, Journal of Clinical Microbiology

This study involved the rapid, direct identification of Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Haemophilus influenzae, Enterococcus sp., and Streptococcus agalactiae from positive blood culture bottles (BACTEC, Johnston Laboratories, Inc.) by using the AccuProbe (Gen-Probe, San Diego, Calif.) culture confirmation test. This method uses a chemiluminescent DNA probe that detects the rRNA of the target organisms. The manufacturer's instructions were modified to use a pellet of bacteria made directly from positive blood culture broth rather than a colony from an agar plate. Two separate procedures of selective centrifugation were employed in order to obtain the pellet. The first utilized a routine clinical centrifuge and a large volume of broth (10 to 12 ml) from the blood culture bottle. The second method used a microcentrifuge and less volume (1 to 1.5 ml). A total of 196 clinical specimens taken directly from positive blood culture broths were correctl...