Impact of freezing on the future utility of archived surveillance culture specimens

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2007 Jul;28(7):886-8. doi: 10.1086/518843. Epub 2007 May 31.

Abstract

The ability to recover bacteria from frozen culture specimens has important implications. The purpose of this study was to validate the utility of frozen specimens for recovery of several gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial species by culture. Results demonstrate that 98% of 250 bacterial isolates identified on initial culture were subsequently recovered by culture of frozen specimens after a median storage period of 564 days.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Bacteriological Techniques*
  • Freezing
  • Gram-Negative Bacteria / isolation & purification*
  • Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / microbiology*
  • Gram-Positive Bacteria / isolation & purification*
  • Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / microbiology*
  • Gram-Positive Cocci / isolation & purification
  • Methicillin Resistance
  • Nasal Lavage Fluid / microbiology
  • Rectum / microbiology
  • Sentinel Surveillance
  • Vancomycin Resistance
  • beta-Lactam Resistance