Study on the usefulness of hypertonic culture media

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Abstract
Specimens from 300 patients were studied using 5-9 aerobic and anaerobic culture media, including 5 that were hypertonic. Groups studied included fever of unknown origin, suspected endocarditis, endocarditis during therapy, bacteremia during therapy, abscess and cellulitis, presumed infectious arthritis, renal transplantation during rejection, collagen disease, sarcoidosis, lymphoma and colitis. Isolates [bacteria and some yeasts] in hypertonic media were reverted to parent form by agar passage. In only 5% of these selected cases were organisms found in hypertonic, but not conventional, media that appeared on the basis of repeated isolation and/or serological studies to come from the patient. Of the 16, 9 appeared to be of major significance. The 2 groups in which use of highly enriched, hypertonic media seemed most helpful were suspected endocarditis and undefined meningitis with negative cultures using standard media. The most effective of the hypertonic media used was 0.3 M sucrose in brain heart infusion with 20% horse serum. In most instances the organism grew only in the hypertonic sucrose, and in most cases it appeared in conventional rather than aberrant form. Hypertonic media, especially 0.2 M sucrose, are of substantial help in a small number of carefully selected cases.