Anaerobic bacterial recovery from two transport systems in a study of gynecologic flora

Several systems for transporting specimens to the laboratory to test for the presence of anaerobic bacteria are available to clinicians. To date, these have not been systematically compared, especially regarding cost-effectiveness. This study compares recovery of anaerobic organisms from genital cultures of gynecological patients under bacteriologic study for research purposes. Two transport systems for delivery of specimens to the laboratory were studied: 1) the commercially available Anaswab system, and 2) a modified Stuart medium (transport charcoal medium) with 0.2% added agar in addition to 0.2% added charcoal. Our data shows no significant difference in kinds of anaerobic organisms recovered using either system when specimens are transported to the laboratory within 24 hours. Although the sites of culturing compared in this study are not directly applicable to the problem of pelvic infection, nevertheless the potential for lowering cost by selecting alternative systems for anaerobic recovery should prompt further comparisons in clinical settings. Some practical suggestions are made for applying agar-modified transport charcoal medium, the less expensive alternative, to clinical situations.