Radiometric detection of bacteremia in neonates

The predicted prevalence of false positive blood cultures due to hyperactive neonatal blood cells in a radiometric detection system was confirmed. Suppression of this blood background radioactivity in the system was achieved by using a hypertonic medium containing 10% sucrose. The radiometric system produced accurate results as fast as the conventional blood culturing method, saved labor and minimized the recovery of extraneous contaminants.