[Comparison of BACTEC and Ogawa media for culture of mycobacteria from sputum specimens].

The BACTEC system and the Ogawa method were compared for recovery rates and detection times of mycobacteria from sputum specimens. From the 179 specimens, 78 (43.6%) and 56 (31.3%) isolates were detected with the BACTEC and Ogawa methods, respectively. Of the 78 mycobacterial isolates in the BACTEC method, 53 (67.9%) were M. tuberculosis complex strains, 23 (29.5%) were M. avium complex strains, and others (2 strains) (2.6%) were M. kansasii and M. scrofulaceum strains. Of the 56 isolates in the Ogawa method, 37 (66.1%) were M. tuberculosis complex strains, 18 (32.1%) were M. avium complex strains, and 1 (1.8%) was M. kansasii strain. The difference in the recovery rates between the BACTEC (26 M. tuberculosis complex strains, 13 M. avium complex strains) and Ogawa (23 M. tuberculosis complex strains, 12 M. avium complex strains) methods was not significant in the smear-positive specimens. In the case of smear-negative specimens, the BACTEC method detected 27 M. tuberculosis complex and 10 M. avium complex isolates, on the other hand, the Ogawa method detected 14 and 6 of M. tuberculosis complex and M. avium complex, respectively. The mean detection time for M. tuberculosis complex was 15 days with the BACTEC method, and 26 days with the Ogawa method. For M. avium complex, the mean detection times were 5 and 24 days, respectively. These results indicate the usefulness of the BACTEC system in the rapid diagnosis of mycobacteria.