Effect of carryover of clot activators on coagulation tests during phlebotomy.

We investigated the effect of clot activators carried over from the serum tube on major coagulation tests during phlebotomy. First, blood specimens from 30 normal subjects were mixed with small amounts of fluid containing clot activators, and their effects on various coagulation tests were determined. Only the value of fibrin monomer complex displayed a remarkable change when thrombin-containing fluid was added to the blood specimens.

Direct inoculation method using BacT/ALERT 3D and BD Phoenix System allows rapid and accurate identification and susceptibility testing for both Gram-positive cocci and Gram-negative rods in aerobic blood cultures.

This study describes a direct inoculation method using the automated BacT/ALERT 3D and the BD Phoenix System in combination for identification and susceptibility testing of isolates from positive blood cultures. Organism identification and susceptibility results were compared with the conventional method for 211 positive aerobic blood cultures. Of 110 Gram-positive cocci (GPCs), 98 (89.

Mycobacterium kyorinense sp. nov., a novel, slow-growing species, related to Mycobacterium celatum, isolated from human clinical specimens.

A novel, non-pigmented, slow-growing mycobacterium was identified on the basis of biochemical and nucleic acid analyses, as well as growth characteristics. Three isolates were cultured from clinical samples (two from sputum and one from pus in lymph nodes) obtained from three immunocompetent patients with infections. Bacterial growth occurred at 28-42 degrees C on Middlebrook 7H11-OADC agar.