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Replicate plating: does it increase reliability?
K K Wille1, B R Vowels, A N Foglia
1Clinical Research and Biometrics Department, Procter & Gamble Company, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Letters in Applied Microbiology
|August 1, 1996
Summary
Replicate plating of microbiological specimens showed high similarity between replicate plates. Single plating is as accurate as replicate plating for evaluating erythromycin gel
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Clinical Pharmacology
Background:
- Topical erythromycin gel is used clinically to evaluate antibacterial effects.
- Standard microbiological procedures are essential for accurate bacterial counts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the accuracy of single versus replicate plating in a clinical study.
- To assess the reliability of bacterial counts when using topical erythromycin gel.
Main Methods:
- Microbiological specimens were collected from patients using erythromycin gel or placebo.
- Specimens were plated in triplicate on bacteriological media.
- Aerobic and anaerobic organisms were counted, and replicate plate counts were compared.
Main Results:
- Bacterial colony counts from replicate plates demonstrated high similarity for all organism types.
- Statistical tests showed nearly identical results whether using single, double, or triplicate plating.
- No significant difference in accuracy was found between single and replicate plating methods.
Conclusions:
- Replicate plating does not enhance the accuracy of bacterial counts compared to single plating.
- Single plating provides reliable bacterial counts with heightened confidence in results.
- This finding simplifies microbiological analysis in clinical studies involving topical treatments.