Table 1.
Number of sub-cultures with growth from blood culture bottles spiked with different organisms and stored for different times at different temperatures after flagging positive
| Organism (blood culture system, laboratory site) | SC1 (0–6 h) | Storage condition | SC2 (22–26 h) | SC3 (30–34 h) | SC4 (46–50 h) | SC4 swab* (46–50 h) | SC5 (7 days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
S. agalactiae (BACTEC, LOMWRU) |
15/15 | Fridge | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 |
| RT | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | ||
| Incubator | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | ||
|
S. pneumoniae (BACTEC, LOMWRU) |
15/15 | Fridge | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 |
| RT | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | ||
| Incubator | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | ||
| S. pneumoniae (BacT/ALERT, COMRU) | 14/14 | Fridge | 4/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 |
| RT | 5/5 | 5/5 | 2/5 | 5/5 | 0/5 | ||
| Incubator | 4/5 | 1/5 | 0/5 | 5/5 | 0/5 | ||
|
S. aureus (BacT/ALERT, SMRU) |
15/15 | Fridge | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 |
| RT | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | ||
| Incubator | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | ||
|
H. influenzae (BacT/ALERT, COMRU) |
15/15 | Fridge | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 |
| RT | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | ||
| Incubator | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 2/5 | 5/5 | ||
|
E. coli (BacT/ALERT, COMRU) |
15/15 | Fridge | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 |
| RT | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | ||
| Incubator | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 |
SC = sub-culture (duration of time stored after flagging positive), Fridge = 2-8°C, RT = incubator or air-conditioned room temperature (22-27°C), Incubator = 35±2°C. *SC4 swab = Amies transport swab inoculated at SC1.