Comparison of different culture methods on bacterial recovery in hemodialysis fluids

To examine the culture method that could provide the highest bacterial recovery, 143 reverse osmosis water samples used in hemodialysis were collected for comparison of the media (Tryptic Soy Agar, TSA vs Reasoner's 2A Agar, R2A), the temperature (20 degrees C vs 37 degrees C), the duration of incubation (48-hour vs 7-day), and the culture technique (membrane filtration vs spread plate methods). The European Best Practice Guideline method, R2A at 20 degrees Cfor 7-day incubation provided higher bacterial recovery than the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) method, TSA at 37 degrees C for 48-hour incubation. The membrane filtration method gave better yield than the spread plate method. As such, the European Best Practice Guideline method in combination with the membrane filtration technique would be the culture method of choice for hemodialysis fluids.