Arnow P M, Bakir M, Thompson K, Bova J L
Infection Control Program and Clinical Microbiology Laboratory, University of Chicago Hospital, and the Departments of Medicine and Pathology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637-1470, USA.
Clin Infect Dis. 2000 Aug;31(2):472-6. doi: 10.1086/313940. Epub 2000 Sep 14.
Contamination of clinical specimens by Mycobacterium gordonae is a significant endemic problem in many laboratories. To investigate this problem, 84 cases at 1 hospital were retrospectively identified during 20 months. The overall rate of specimen contamination was 2. 4%, and 72 of the contaminated specimens were respiratory. A case-control comparison showed that the risk of respiratory specimen contamination was significantly increased if the specimen was expectorated (odds ratio [OR], 3.62; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1. 36-9.50) or if the patient consumed fluids within 2 days before specimen collection (OR, 8.92; 95% CI, 1.40-71.20). Cultures of tap water, ice, and iced drinking water all yielded M. gordonae at 10(-2)-10(0) cfu/mL. A culture survey of consenting patients showed contamination of 8 (24%) of 34 sputum specimens collected immediately after a tap water mouth rinse. These findings demonstrate that endemic specimen contamination arises from mycobacteria in hospital tap water and provide a foundation for control efforts.
戈登分枝杆菌对临床标本的污染是许多实验室中一个严重的地方病问题。为了调查这一问题，在20个月内对一家医院的84例病例进行了回顾性鉴定。标本污染的总体发生率为2.4%，其中72例受污染标本来自呼吸道。病例对照比较显示，如果标本是咳出的（比值比[OR]，3.62；95%置信区间[CI]，1.36 - 9.50），或者患者在标本采集前2天内饮用了液体（OR，8.92；95% CI，1.40 - 71.20），呼吸道标本污染的风险会显著增加。自来水、冰块和冰饮用水的培养物均检出戈登分枝杆菌，浓度为10(-2)-10(0) cfu/mL。一项对同意参与的患者进行的培养调查显示，34例自来水漱口后立即采集的痰标本中有8例（24%）受到污染。这些发现表明，地方性标本污染源自医院自来水中的分枝杆菌，并为控制措施提供了依据。
