Comparison of the lysis centrifugation and radiometric blood culture systems for recovery of yeast.

The performance of the Isolator (lysis centrifugation) and Bactec (radiometric) detection systems for the recovery of fungi from blood was studied prospectively by comparison of 2,188 paired cultures obtained at two geographically separated teaching hospitals. Eight-three yeast isolates were recovered from 78 (3.6%) cultures that were obtained from 43 patients. Seventy-three (88%) yeast strains were recovered using the Isolator system, and 60 (72%) were recovered in the Bactec system. The average time for recovery of yeast was 2.3 days for the Isolator system and 3.1 days for the Bactec system. Optimal recovery can be accomplished through the use of both systems.