Processing of osteoarticular samples for microbiological diagnosis: Results of a national multi-center survey

Our aim was to evaluate the variability in the processing of osteoarticular samples for microbiological diagnosis between different national centers.

An online survey with 13 questions was designed and it was sent through SEIMC to the Microbiology Departments of the different centers.

We obtained 72 answers. In more than half of the tertiary-care centers, at least 5 samples are received. Approximately half of the centers vortex bones/implant samples. Sonication is used mostly in tertiary-care centers. Cultures for aerobic and anaerobic bacteria are performed during 6-10 days of incubation but with differences in liquid culture media. Molecular diagnosis is performed in less than 50% of the centers. Universal PCR (16S rRNA) is the most widely used technique.

We found heterogeneity especially in the use of sonication, liquid culture media or molecular diagnosis, probably in direct relation to the resources and capacities of each center.