Detection of Mycoplasma hominis septicemia by radiometric blood culture

The ease with which Mycoplasma hominis can be recovered and the frequency of its occurrence in septicemia may not be fully appreciated. We detected the growth of M. hominis radiometrically with an automated blood culture instrument. The organism grew in both aerobic and anaerobic culture media, but the cultures were not visibly positive. It was necessary to stain the cultures with acridine orange to visualize M. hominis and to subculture them on Columbia base sheep blood agar to confirm the positive growth index indicated by the instrument. Sodium polyanetholesulfonate inhibited the growth of M. hominis and is not recommended for use as the anticoagulant when blood is cultured for Mycoplasma spp.