Clin Lab. 2024 Feb 1;70(2). doi: 10.7754/Clin.Lab.2023.230717.
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most common infections in adults, and urine culture is the parameter that uses the most time and cost in microbiology laboratories. For this reason, the selection of fast and cost-effective methods in the evaluation of urine samples is one of the priority issues of microbiology laboratories. The aim of this study was to investigate the compatibility and cost-effectiveness of routinely used Blood Agar (BA), Eosin Methylene Blue (EMB) medium, and CHROMagar Orientation Medium (CO Medium) in the identification of microorganisms in urine samples.
Consecutive urine samples (n: 700) sent to our laboratory were simultaneously inoculated onto BA/EMB media and CO medium. Urine samples were evaluated after 18 - 24 hours of incubation at 37℃ and the compatibility of the two methods was compared. The use of 104 Gram stains, 198 biochemical tests, and 9 identification kits was required with BA/EMB agar.
When 104 colonies with single growth were evaluated, presumptive identification with CO medium was found to be 100% compatible with the VITEK 2 system. The most isolated 62 Escherichia coli (E. coli) colonies gave dark pink-red color and were found to be fully compatible with the VITEK 2 system. Compatibility of BA and EMB medium evaluations with VITEK 2 system; E. coli (n: 62), KES group (n: 26), Pseudomonas spp. (n: 6) and Proteus spp. For (n: 2), it was determined as 69.3%, 57.69%, 100%, and 100%, respectively. According to the results of our study, when BA/EMB and CO Medium methods were compared, 182 Euro (€) savings were achieved in 700 urine cultures with CO Medium. It was estimated that the amount of savings could be 15,600 € per year.
CHROMagar Orientation Medium method can be used routinely with its advantages such as being cost-effective, reducing the workload, and not requiring additional operations. CHROMagar Orientation Medium can also be considered as an easily accessible method and opportunity that does not require infrastructure and trained personnel, especially for laboratories with low test capacity and having problems with the supply of com-mercial kits and automated systems.
尿路感染（UTI）是成年人中最常见的感染，而尿液培养是微生物实验室中耗时和成本最高的参数。因此，在评估尿液样本时选择快速且具有成本效益的方法是微生物实验室的优先事项之一。本研究旨在研究在鉴定尿液样本中的微生物时，常规使用的血琼脂（BA）、曙红亚甲基蓝（EMB）培养基和 CHROMagar 定向培养基（CO 培养基）的兼容性和成本效益。
连续收集送往本实验室的 700 例尿液样本，同时接种于 BA/EMB 培养基和 CO 培养基。将尿液样本在 37℃孵育 18-24 小时后进行评估，并比较两种方法的兼容性。BA/EMB 琼脂需要进行 104 次革兰氏染色、198 次生化试验和 9 次鉴定试剂盒。
当评估 104 个单菌落时，发现 CO 培养基的初步鉴定与 VITEK 2 系统完全兼容。最分离的 62 个大肠埃希菌（E. coli）菌落呈深粉红色至红色，与 VITEK 2 系统完全兼容。BA 和 EMB 培养基与 VITEK 2 系统的评估结果；E. coli（n：62）、KES 组（n：26）、假单胞菌属（n：6）和变形杆菌属（n：2）的符合率分别为 69.3%、57.69%、100%和 100%。根据本研究结果，当比较 BA/EMB 和 CO 培养基方法时，CO 培养基可在 700 例尿液培养中节省 182 欧元（€）。估计每年可节省 15600€。
CHROMagar 定向培养基方法具有成本效益高、减少工作量且无需额外操作等优点，可常规使用。CHROMagar 定向培养基也可以被视为一种容易获得的方法和机会，不需要基础设施和训练有素的人员，特别是对于测试能力较低且商业试剂盒和自动化系统供应存在问题的实验室。
