Martin, William J.

A method is described that obviates the need for vacuum and tanks of gas mixtures for anaerobiosis in the anaerobic incubator.

The characteristics of 25 hydrogen sulfide-negative strains of Citrobacter were studied. The majority of isolates were from the respiratory tract and usually were of indeterminate clinical significance. All strains were highly susceptible to polymyxin B, gentamicin, kanamycin, nalidixic acid, and nitrofurantoin.

Comparison of an anaerobic brain heart infusion broth with tryptic soy broth and Thioglycollate medium failed to demonstrate significant differences in isolation rates of anaerobic bacteria from blood.

The characteristics of an atypical group of the family Enterobacteriaceae resembling Enterobacter cloacae were studied. The urinary tract was the most common source of these organisms, and most strains represented infections of secondary clinical significance. In contrast to typical Enterobacter strains, the atypical strains were highly susceptible to the cephalosporins; otherwise, there was a high degree of susceptibility to five other antibiotics and resistance to ampicillin except in very high concentration.

The Enterotube system was evaluated, in parallel with conventional bacteriological procedures for the identification of members of the family Enterobacteriaceae , by using bacterial strains from a variety of clinical specimens and from stock cultures. Excellent agreement between the two test systems was obtained with the following reactions: hydrogen sulfide, indole, Simmons' citrate, glucose, and lactose. Agreement was not as good (<85%) with the urea, phenylalanine deaminase, and dulcitol reactions. The Enterotube lysine decarboxylase test was unsatisfactory. The Enterotube method will correctly identify strains of the family Enterobacteriaceae approximately 50% of the time; if identification only as Klebsiella-Enterobacter-Serratia group is needed, the method will be correct 85% of the time. On the basis of this evaluation, the Enterotube system appears to be both simple and rapid for the presumptive identification of these bacteria. Because of the limited usefulness of the lysine decarboxylase test, the results obtained by this test system are less reliable than those obtained by conventional methods.

The R-B system was evaluated in parallel with conventional bacteriological procedures for the identification of members of the family Enterobacteriaceae by using bacterial strains from a variety of clinical specimens and from stock cultures. The R-B tests found to be reliable were, in decreasing order, the reactions for phenylalanine deaminase, hydrogen sulfide, and indole, the production of gas from glucose, and the decarboxylation of ornithine. The reactions in the R-B system found to be unreliable were motility, the decarboxylation of lysine, and the fermentation of both glucose and lactose. In addition, the reactions of the R-B system were more difficult to read and interpret than those of the conventional system. On the basis of this evaluation, it was concluded that the R-B system is not an acceptable alternative to the conventional methods in the identification of the Enterobacteriaceae .

The Analytab system of 20 biochemical tests for identification of Enterobacteriaceae was evaluated in parallel with conventional tests on 128 Enterobacteriaceae , 5 Aeromonas , and 1 Yersinia enterocolitica. The results of tests for H 2 S and indole production, citrate utilization, lysine and ornithine decarboxylase, arginine dihydrolase, nitrate reduction, β-galactosidase, and fermentation of arabinose, rhamnose, mannitol, and glucose showed almost complete agreement between the two systems. Eighty-eight per cent of Enterobacteriaceae were correctly speciated with the Analytab system; on repeat testing with heavier inocula of organisms failing to ferment glucose initially, the proportion of Enterobacteriaceae correctly speciated became 93%.