Controlled evaluation of hypertonic sucrose medium for detection of bacteremia and fungemia in supplemented peptone broth.

Because the value of hypertonic media in detection of bacteremia and fungemia is controversial, we evaluated supplemented peptone broth (SPB) with 0.03% sodium polyanetholsulfonate with and without 10% sucrose in 5,439 paired blood cultures from adult patients. The aerobic atmosphere, 1:10 ratio of blood to broth, and methods for processing blood cultures were identical. Only cultures with adequate blood samples (greater than or equal to 4 ml) were compared statistically. More clinically important bacteria were recovered from SPB with sucrose (P less than or equal to 0.001), including Staphylococcus epidermidis, Enterobacteriaceae, and Bacteroidaceae. However, only one of nine isolates of Neisseria gonorrhoeae grew in SPB with sucrose. Staphylococci (P less than 0.001), Enterobacteriaceae (P less than 0.01), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P less than 0.01), and yeasts (P less than 0.05) were detected 1 or more days earlier in SPB with sucrose. The effect of sucrose on blood cultures appears to be medium dependent, based on comparisons of our results with those of published reports.