RECOVERY OF MYCOBACTERIA FROM BLOOD IN MYCOBACTERIA GROWTH INDICATOR TUBE AND LOWENSTEIN-JENSEN SLANT AFTER LYSIS-CENTRIFUGATION

Five hundred five blood samples for culture were processed in the Isol ator lysis-centrifugatio system and were then inoculated into a Mycoba cteria Growth Indicator Tube (MGIT) and onto a Lowenstein-Jensen (L-J) slant. Forty-nine isolates of Mycobacterium avium complex and three i solates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis were recovered from 50 of the bl ood culture specimens. Forty-five isolates from 43 specimens were reco vered in the MGIT, with a mean time to detection of 21 days. Forty-one isolates from 40 specimens were recovered in the L-J slants, and the mean time to detection was 36 days. Nine specimens were positive in th e MGIT alone, while seven specimens were positive only in L-J medium.