TRANSPORTATION OF LYMPH-NODE BIOPSY SPECIMENS IN SELECTIVE KIRCHNERS LIQUID-MEDIUM FOR CULTURE OF TUBERCLE-BACILLI

Lymph node biopsy specimens, obtained from 297 paediatric and adult pa tients with tuberculous lymphadenitis at Madurai, were transported in selective Kirchner's liquid medium (KL-T) to the Tuberculosis Research Centre, Madras and processed for culture, Mycobacterium tuberculosis was isolated from 201 (68%) specimens, Of the 192 specimens received w ithin 4 days of resection, 134 (69.8%) yielded M. tuberculosis on cult ure and of the 105 specimens received after 5 days, 67 (63.8%) were cu lture positive; the difference was not statistically significant, By i ncubating KL-T alone further, after removing the gland for processing, it was found that mere contact with the excised node during transport ation was enough to retrieve 77 (38.3%) of the total of 201 positive i solates obtained, the delay did not affect the culture positivity rate , Thus, lymph node specimens for culture of tubercle bacilli can be st ored in the refrigerator for up to 15 days and transported in KL-T at ambient temperature for 18-20 h without any loss in culture positivity .