Comparative evaluation of BACTEC FX, BacT/ALERT 3D, and BacT/ALERT VIRTUO-automated blood culture systems using simulated blood cultures

ABSTRACTWe examined the rapid evaluation of susceptibility to echinocandins inCandidaspp. using the Etest performed directly on positive blood cultures and anidulafungin-containing agar plates. We prospectively collected 80 positive blood cultures (Bactec-FX system, Becton-Dickinson, Cockeysville, MD, USA) with echinocandin-susceptibleCandidaspp. (n= 60) and echinocandin-intermediateCandida parapsilosis(n= 20) from patients with candidemia. Additionally, blood culture bottles of nonfungemic/bacteremic patients were spiked with 35 echinocandin-resistantCandidaspecies isolates. A total of 2 to 4 drops of medium from each bottle were stroked directly onto both RPMI 1640 agar plates with micafungin and anidulafungin Etest strips (ETDIR) and Sabouraud agar plates containing 2 mg/liter of anidulafungin. The isolates were tested according to the EUCAST method and Etest standard (ETSD). Essential and categorical agreement between the methods was calculated. The essential agreement and categorical agreement between the EUCAST method and ETDIRand ETSDwere both >97.4%. The essential agreement between ETDIRand the EUCAST method for both echinocandins was >97%. The categorical agreement between theFKSsequence and ETDIRwas 97.4%. The ETDIRMICs of anidulafungin and micafungin (≥0.19 mg/liter and ≥0.064 mg/liter, respectively) effectively separated all susceptibleFKSwild-type isolates from the resistantFKSmutant isolates. The categorical agreement (62.6%) between the EUCAST method and growth on anidulafungin-containing plates was poor, with the best agreement observed forCandida glabrata(94.2%). When performed directly on positive blood cultures from patients with candidemia, the Etest with micafungin and anidulafungin is a reliable procedure for the rapid testing of susceptibility to echinocandins inCandidaspecies isolates.

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Use of simulated blood cultures for time to detection comparison between BacT/ALERT™ and BACTEC™ 9240 blood culture systems

Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease ◽

10.1016/s0732-8893(02)00451-0 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 44 (3) ◽

pp. 235-240 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Egidio Francesco Viganò ◽

Emanuela Vasconi ◽

Carlo Agrappi ◽

Pierangelo Clerici

Keyword(s):

Blood Culture ◽

Blood Cultures ◽

Culture Systems ◽

Time To Detection

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Comparative study of manual conventional blood cultures versus automated blood culture system in cases of septicemia

Indian Journal of Microbiology Research ◽

10.18231/j.ijmr.2021.065 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 327-332

Author(s):

Humera Qudsia Fatima Ansari ◽

Lubna Saher ◽

Mustafa Afzal

Keyword(s):

Blood Culture ◽

Culture System ◽

Blood Cultures ◽

Diffusion Method ◽

Suspected Case ◽

Care Hospital ◽

Susceptibility Pattern ◽

Gold Standard Method ◽

Blood Culture System ◽

Culture Systems

: Blood cultures are a proven gold standard method for the identification of causative agents of bloodstream infections. Identification of causative organism along with antibiotic susceptibility plays a pivotal role in proposing suitable antibiotic therapy. Automated blood culture systems show improved monitoring of blood cultures by reducing the time and by ensuring more accurate results when compared to the conventional blood culture system. To isolate the organism from given blood samples of a suspected case of septicemia and to compare the results of conventional and automated blood culture systems and to study the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of the pathogens isolated. A prospective study of 6 months period was conducted among 100 subjects attending the Department of Microbiology in a tertiary care hospital. Subjects with symptoms and signs of septicemia were included. 25ml of venous blood was drawn aseptically from the venipuncture site, of which 5ml of blood was inoculated into 50ml of Brain Heart Infusion bottle in conventional blood culture system and 10ml each into aerobic and anaerobic BACTEC PLUS bottle in Automated blood culture system BACTEC FX40. Overall, 48% and 60% of the samples revealed positive growth by the conventional and automated blood culture system BACTEC FX40, respectively. Gram Positive Cocci were 52.08% and Gram Negative Bacilli were 47.91% isolated by conventional blood culture system, whereas automated blood culture system BACTEC FX40 isolated 45% and 55%, respectively. Isolates were detected within 24-48hrs and 12-24 hrs by conventional and automated blood culture systems, respectively. The anti-microbial susceptibility pattern of the pathogens isolated was also recorded by Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method of antimicrobial susceptiblity testing. Automated blood culture systems are a trustworthy substitute to conventional blood culture systems. The automated blood culture systems being more sensitive and rapid in detecting septicemia in subjects acts as an appropriate means for the initial identification and detection of blood pathogens and improved provision of antimicrobial therapeutic options for septic Patients especially in Critical Care and Intensive Care Units where positive culture reporting is crucial.

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Comparative evaluation of the oxoid signal and Roche Septi-Chek blood culture systems.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology ◽

10.1128/jcm.26.12.2526-2530.1988 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 26 (12) ◽

pp. 2526-2530 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

P R Murray ◽

A C Niles ◽

R L Heeren ◽

M M Curren ◽

L E James ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Blood Culture ◽

Comparative Evaluation ◽

Culture Systems

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Comparative evaluation of Oxoid Signal and BACTEC radiometric blood culture systems for the detection of bacteremia and fungemia.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology ◽

10.1128/jcm.26.5.962-964.1988 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 26 (5) ◽

pp. 962-964 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

M P Weinstein ◽

S Mirrett ◽

L B Reller

Keyword(s):

Blood Culture ◽

Comparative Evaluation ◽

Culture Systems

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Comparative evaluation of the BCB Roche and Oxoid Signal blood culture systems

European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1007/bf01963901 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 150-153 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

P. Rohner ◽

R. Auckenthaler

Keyword(s):

Blood Culture ◽

Comparative Evaluation ◽

Culture Systems

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Comparison of microorganism detection and time-to-positivity in pediatric and standard media from three major commercial continuously monitored blood culture systems

Journal of Clinical Microbiology ◽

10.1128/jcm.00429-21 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Melanie L. Yarbrough ◽

Meghan A. Wallace ◽

Carey-Ann D. Burnham

Keyword(s):

Blood Culture ◽

Detection Rate ◽

Culture Media ◽

Blood Cultures ◽

Kingella Kingae ◽

Packed Red Blood Cells ◽

Culture Systems ◽

Time To Positivity ◽

Species Specific ◽

Blood Volumes

New blood culture instrumentation and media formulations have led to improved time-to-positivity (TTP) for positive blood cultures. Data regarding the necessity of pediatric blood culture bottles with contemporary blood culture systems are sparse. We compared performance of three commercial blood culture systems, evaluating impact of blood volumes in standard and pediatric blood culture media across systems. Simulated blood cultures with packed red blood cells and three Gram-positive, four Gram-negative, and one anaerobic organism (final concentrations ranging from 0.5-19 CFU/mL blood) on the VIRTUO, VersaTREK, and Bactec FX were evaluated with FAN Plus, REDOX, and BACTEC Plus media, respectively. For each media/instrument/organism combination 1, 3, 5, and 10 mL blood volumes were evaluated in triplicate. Detection rate was not affected by blood volume. Aerobic organisms that demonstrated variable detection were Kingella kingae, Haemophilus influenzae and Neisseria meningitidis. Bacteroides fragilis was detected in 83%, 100%, and 100% of VIRTUO, VersaTREK, and Bactec anaerobic bottles. Average TTP of standard media for aerobic organisms detected on VIRTUO was decreased compared to VersaTREK (-2.3 h) and Bactec (-4.9 h). Compared to standard media, detection rate and TTP was unchanged on VIRTUO, while TTP was reduced with pediatric media for 2/8 organisms tested on Bactec and 7/8 organisms on VersaTREK, illustrating the potential benefit of pediatric media on VersaTREK or BACTEC when low blood volumes (<5 mL) are collected. These results demonstrate that TTP is decreased on the VIRTUO compared to VersaTREK and Bactec for many microorganisms associated with BSI but may have species-specific limitations.

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Real-world Time to Positivity of 2 Widely Used Commercial Blood Culture Systems in Patients With Severe Manifestations of Sepsis: An Analysis of the FABLED Study

Open Forum Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1093/ofid/ofaa371 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (9) ◽

Author(s):

Guillaume Butler-Laporte ◽

Cedric P Yansouni ◽

Katryn Paquette ◽

Alexander Lawandi ◽

Sarah N Stabler ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Blood Culture ◽

Prospective Study ◽

Bacterial Species ◽

Blood Cultures ◽

Study Cohort ◽

Analytical Methodology ◽

Multi Centre Study ◽

Clinical Sensitivity ◽

Culture Systems ◽

Time To Positivity

Abstract Background Of all microbiological tests performed, blood cultures have the most impact on patient care. Timely results are essential, especially in the management of sepsis. While there are multiple available blood culture systems on the market, they have never been compared in a prospective study in a critically ill population. Methods We performed an analysis of the FABLED study cohort to compare culture results and time to positivity (TTP) of 2 widely used blood culture systems: BacT/Alert and BACTEC. In this multisite prospective study, patients with severe manifestations of sepsis had cultures drawn before antibiotics using systematic enrollment criteria and blood drawing methodology allowing for minimization of pre-analytical biases. Results We enrolled 315 patients; 144 had blood cultures (47 positive) with BacT/Alert and 171 with BACTEC (53 positive). Patients whose blood cultures were processed using the BacT/Alert system were younger (median, 64 vs 70 years; P = .003), had a higher proportion of HIV (9.03% vs 1.75%; P = .008) and a lower qSOFA (P = .003). There were no statistically significant differences in the most commonly identified bacterial species. TTP was shorter for BACTEC (median [interquartile range {IQR}], 12.5 [10–14] hours) compared with BacT/Alert (median [IQR], 17 [14–21] hours; P < .0001). Conclusions In this large prospective multi-centre study comparing the two blood culture systems among patients with severe manifestations of sepsis, and using a rigorous pre-analytical methodology, the BACTEC system yielded positive culture results 4.5 hours earlier than BacT/Alert. These results apply to commonly isolated bacteria. However, our study design did not allow direct comparison of TTP for unusual pathogens nor of clinical sensitivity between systems. More research is needed to determine the clinical implications of this finding.

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