Comparison of BACTEC MGIT 960 and BACTEC 460 for culture of Mycobacteria

We have compared the BACTEC 460 system with the BACTEC MGIT 960 system for culture of mycobacteria from 1800 routine clinical specimens. Rate of isola tion of M. tuberculosis and time to detection of positive culture was compa rable for both systems (BACTEC 460, 35 isolates, BACTEC MGIT 960, 34 isolat es). Contamination of cultures was more common with the BACTEC MGIT 960 sys tem. With intensification of the decontamination process an acceptable cont amination rate was achieved in the BACTEC MGIT 960 system but time to detec tion of positive culture was increased by 1 to 2 days. (C) 2000 Elsevier Sc ience Inc. All rights reserved.