Detection of pathogenic Campylobacter species in blood culture systems

Abstract

Because differences in recognition of Campylobacterfetus and Campylobacterjejuni in systemic infections may be due partially to differences in the ability to cultivate these organisms, we studied their growth characteristics in two widely used blood culture systems. In the Roche Septi-Chek system (Hoffman-La Roche, Inc., Nutley, N.J.), over a broad range of inocula all strains were detected in broth within 2 days and on paddles within 3 days. In the BACTEC 6B aerobic bottles (Johnston Laboratories, Inc., Towson, Md.), C. jejuni and C. fetus took a median of 5 and 3 days, respectively, to reach the growth index threshold. However, in the BACTEC 7D anaerobic bottles, C. fetus required a median of 2 days to reach the growth index threshold, whereas for C. jejuni the median was greater than 10 days. The poor performance of C. jejuni in both BACTEC systems may have been due to unfavorable incubation atmospheres and may partially explain why C. jejuni bacteremia is so infrequently detected. Overall, the Roche Septi-Chek system was excellent for detecting Campylobacter strains in blood cultures. Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus has been recognized primarily as a cause of systemic illnesses (2, 4), whereas Campylobacterjejuni and Campylobacter coli are predomi

The susceptibility ofCampylobacter concisusto the bactericidal effects of normal human serum

“…Bacteraemia due to C. jejuni has previously been proposed as being underreported, due to the fact that blood is rarely collected for cultivation in the early stages of gastroenteritis, and because commercial blood cultivation systems in strict aerobic and anaerobic atmospheres are unsuitable for C. jejuni growth . While the survival of C. concisus in commercial blood cultivation systems has not previously been investigated, it is a possibility that C. concisus could be under diagnosed in bacteraemia for the same reasons.…”

A case of Campylobacter jejuni bacteremia in a renal transplant patient

“…The diagnosis and treatment of C. jejuni bacteremia is usually delayed because of the very slow growth and special culture media required by this bacteria (14). Immunocompromised patients are at higher risk of complications of C. jejuni bacteremia, including cellulitis, meningitis, endocarditis, prosthetic joint infection, peritonitis, septic arthritis, and osteomyelitis (4, 10).…”

Update on detection of bacteremia and fungemia.

“…Seeded blood culture studies with C. jejuni and C. fetus have shown that aerobic and anaerobic BACTEC media, and Septi-Chek broth and paddles support growth, with detection in 2 to 5 days. Septi-Chek was the faster method, and C. fetus grew more quickly than C. jejuni (188). In contrast, all blood culture systems seeded with Helicobacter pylori have failed to recover the organism (203).…”