[Direct identification method for bacteria in positive blood culture bottles using MALDI biotyper].

We investigated the relevance of direct identification method for bacteria from blood culture bottles using MALDI Biotyper(Bruker Co.). One hundred fourteen bacterial strains obtained from blood culture bottles were analyzed using the pretreatment method recommended by Bruker Corporation. The identification rate with recommended pretreatment was 76.3% (87/114). Twenty seven samples that were not identified with the pretreatment method were further analyzed using our modified method. Of these, twelve were identified, improving the identification rate to 86.8% (99/114). These results suggest that our modified pretreatment combined with pretreatment method recommended by Bruker Corporation yields improved identification of bacteria from blood culture bottles using MALDI Biotyper system.