Evaluation of a new agar medium containing cetrimide, kanamycin and nalidixic acid for isolation and enhancement of pigment production of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in clinical samples.

A new selective agar medium (CKNA), containing cetrimide 0.3 g/l, kanamycin sulfate 50 mg/l, and nalidixic acid 5 mg/l, was developed for the isolation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It was compared to Nalidixic Acid Cetrimide agar (NAC), Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Selective Agar (PASA) and Pseudosel(TM) agar (CET) using 1,148 clinical specimens. The sensitivities rates of P. aeruginosa with CKNA, NAC, PASA, and CET were 88.2%, 81.3%, 79.2%, and 84.0%, respectively. The specificities of CKNA, NAC, PASA, and CET were 99.2%, 98.4%, 99.2%, and 99.7%, respectively.