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Enteric media: pre-poured or in-house?
1Microbiology Department, St Thomas' Hospital, London.
Aims:
(1) To evaluate the performance of in-house and pre-poured commercially available enteric agar by challenge with a large number of positive clinical specimens. (2) To set the standard (critical independent evaluation) which new products should reach. (3) To publish this information, so that others can make informed decisions about enteric media.
Methods:
Thirteen media of anonymous source were challenged with "known" positive stool samples.
Results:
In-house desoxycholate citrate agar performed best for overall pathogen isolation rates, for shigella isolation rates, and for most pathogens available on primary culture.
Conclusions:
Desoxycholate citrate agar made by our own laboratory yielded the most pathogens and proved the most effective.
Insights
In-house desoxycholate citrate agar demonstrated superior pathogen isolation compared to commercial alternatives. This finding aids clinical laboratories in selecting effective enteric media for improved diagnostic accuracy.
Area of Science:
- Clinical Microbiology
- Diagnostic Laboratory Science
Background:
- Enteric agar media are crucial for isolating bacterial pathogens from stool samples.
- Evaluating the performance of commercially available versus in-house prepared media is essential for diagnostic laboratories.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the efficacy of in-house and commercial enteric agar media.
- To establish performance benchmarks for enteric media.
- To inform laboratory decisions regarding enteric media selection.
Main Methods:
- Thirteen different enteric agar media were anonymously sourced.
- Media were challenged with a large number of stool samples known to be positive for enteric pathogens.
Main Results:
- In-house prepared desoxycholate citrate agar exhibited the highest overall pathogen isolation rates.
- This in-house medium also showed superior isolation rates for Shigella species.
- The best performance was observed for pathogens detectable on primary culture.
Conclusions:
- Desoxycholate citrate agar prepared in-house was the most effective enteric medium tested.
- The study highlights the superior performance of in-house media for key pathogen detection.