Rapid identification of bacteria direct from a blood culture bottle would speed up patient treatment and recovery, thereby also greatly reducing hospital care costs. The current procedure of subculturing typically takes from 24 to 48 hours to obtain bacterial identifications. Gas chromatographic analysis of bacterial fatty acids has promise as a rapid and inexpensive identification technique if the system were more sensitive and if the impact of the blood fatty acids could be minimized. Splitless injection, purification of the air supply, decreased data rate collection and concentration of the sample provide an increase in sensitivity of more than 1,600,000X. Lysis of blood cells by saponin or detergents coupled with filtration greatly reduces contamination of the bacterial fatty acids by blood components. New algorithms show promise for reducing the impact of blood components and for naming the components of polymicrobic cultures. A novel technique for rapid derivatization of fatty acids shows promise of very rapid identification of the pathogens. As patient care costs exceed $1,000 per day, the new technique could produce great health care cost savings. Additionally, by allowing targeted treatment and decreased recovery times, the technique should reduce patient suffering and aid in reducing the number of nosocomial infections.
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