. 1999 Oct;37(10):3102–3107. doi: 10.1128/jcm.37.10.3102-3107.1999

TABLE 1.

Processing and culture protocols used by the participating laboratories

Laboratory	Decontamination^a	Stain for microscopy^b	Inoculation procedure^c
Laboratory	Decontamination^a	Stain for microscopy^b	Respiratory specimens	Nonrespiratory specimens
A	2% NaOH-NALC	Auramine	BACTEC 12B ± L-J	BACTEC 12B + L-J
B	2% NaOH-NALC	Auramine	BACTEC 12B + L-J	BACTEC 12B + L-J
C	2% NaOH-NALC	Auramine	MB/BacT + L-J	MB/BacT + L-J
D	2% NaOH	Z-N	L-J (±BACTEC 12B)	BACTEC 12B + L-J

NALC, N-acetyl-l-cysteine. Laboratories A and D used 1 M phosphoric acid to halt digestion and decontamination, while laboratories B and C used phosphate-buffered saline (up to a 50-ml total volume). Specimens were concentrated by centrifugation (2,300 to 3,220 × g).

Smear samples were stained by the Ziehl-Neelsen (Z-N) technique, the auramine fluorochrome method (with all new smear-positive specimens confirmed by Ziehl-Neelsen overstaining).

After processing, respiratory and nonrespiratory specimens were inoculated into BACTEC 12B vials (Becton Dickinson, Sparks, Md.), MB/BacT broth (Organon Teknika Corp. Durham, N.J.), and/or onto Löwenstein-Jensen (L-J) slants. Details on the incubation temperatures and reading schedules used in each laboratory are available from the authors upon request. ±, with or without.