[Brain-heart media for blood cultures.]

When diagnosing bloodstream infection (BI) the culture medium is the basis for growth of microorganisms and obtaining the blood culture. Pancreatic digest from fish meal is the basis of all culture media in Russia. In European countries brain-heart media (BHM) are used for detecting microorganisms in blood. In Russia BHM is not produced. The aim is to work out the formulation and the way of the BHM (broth and agar) preparation in order to improve the efficiency of obtaining blood culture. There were defined the physical and chemical indices and biological parameters of the BHM. The microbiological control of the BHM was carried out by diagnostic study of cardiological patients' blood. On the basis of the developed technique of the brain-heart extraction (BHE) preparation there was created the liquid and agar BHM (LBHM, BHA). The LBHM was poured into bottles which then were filled with the inert gas. The bottles were closed with rubber stoppers and rolled in metal caps became a closed system. Microbiological qualities of LBHM were tested on 260 blood samples and thioglycollate medium (TGM) and LBHM. Aerobic microorganisms grew in LBHM 2,4 times more often than in TGM. The microaerophilic microbes grew in LBHM 3,2 times more often than in TGM. Anaerobic microbes did not show any growth in TGM, (p<0,001). Monomicrobes hemocultures were obtained in LBHM 13,4 times more often than in glucose broth and 2,3 times more often than in TGM, (p<0,001). Polymicrobes hemocultures were obtained in LBHM more often than in TGM (7,3% and 1,7%, respectively). The quality of brain-heart agar (BHA) was tested on 300 blood samples in 5% blood meat-pepton agar (MPA) and BHA in aerobic and anaerobic conditions for both the media. Aerobic microorganisms grew in BHA 2 times more often than in MPA. The microaerophilic microbes grew in BHA 3,6 times more often than in MPA. In anaerobic condition in BHA aerobic microorganisms grew 2 times more often than in MPA and the microaerophilic microbes grew 2,5 times more often than in MPA, (p<0,001). Anaerobic microbes did not grow in MPA. When diagnosing bloodstream infection the BHM (liquid and agar) are able to create the optimal conditions for the increase of the wide range pathogen growth.