R. Piccolomini et al., LABORATORY AND CLINICAL COMPARISON OF PRESERVATION MEDIA AND TRANSPORT CONDITIONS FOR SURVIVAL OF ACTINOBACILLUS-ACTINOMYCETEMCOMITANS, Journal of Medical Microbiology, 47(8), 1998, pp. 743-748
The capacity of clinical isolates and type strains of Actinobacillus a
ctinomycetemcomitans to survive in a new transport medium (AaTM), phos
phate-buffered saline (PBS) and Ringer's solution (RS) was evaluated.
The effects of exposure to air, transportation time and temperature on
viability were also studied. In addition, the culture of A. actinomyc
etemcomitans from subgingival plaque of patients with different forms
of periodontitis was quantified. The results following storage in AaTM
, PBS and RS showed that A. actinomycetemcomitans survived better in A
aTM than in PBS or RS when transportation times exceeded 20-22 h, and
that survival was enhanced by storage at below 12 degrees C, Serotype
b strains of A. actinomycetemcomitans were able to survive better than
either serotype a or c, In the clinical study the optimal transportat
ion conditions for subgingival plaque containing A. actinomycetemcomit
ans were AaTM at a temperature of 8 degrees C for 24 h under anaerobic
conditions. These conditions resulted in a high survival and isolatio
n rate for A. actinomycetemcomitans without inhibition of the other pe
riodontopathic bacteria isolated from deep periodontal pockets. These
findings have practical implications for future multicentre clinical t
rials in which the transportation of oral specimens over relatively lo
ng distances and at different ambient temperatures during various peri
ods of the year are required.