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. 1980 Oct;12(4):572–575. doi: 10.1128/jcm.12.4.572-575.1980

False no-growth blood cultures in pneumococcal pneumonia.

C C Adeniyi-Jones, D L Stevens, E S Rasquinha
PMCID: PMC273639  PMID: 7419708

Abstract

The growth of Streptococcus pneumoniae in commercial media containing 14C-labeled substrates was studied experimentally; the results of blood cultures that were positive for S. pneumoniae over a 14-month period were analyzed to explain no-growth but radiometrically positive blood cultures from four patients with clinically diagnosed pneumococcal pneumonia. The growth of S. pneumonoiae in aerobic blood culture vials resulted in a chocolate color in the medium. S. pneumoniae grew rapidly in both aerobic and anaerobic media, but 14CO2 evolved from the metabolism of the labeled substrates was detected only in the aerobic culture vials. Radiometric detection lagged behind growth of the organisms and was accompanied by visual changes in the media. By 24 h, the viability of the culture was on the decline; radiometric readings remained positive even when the culture had died.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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