Reliability of Tranport Medium in the Laboratory Evaluation of Corneal Ulcer

Purpoe To compare the microbiological yield of corneal ulcer culture etablihed by direct inoculation of culture media v indirect inoculation by mean of tranport medium (Amie without charcoal). Deign ingle maked, propective clinical trial. Method craping were obtained for Gram and potaium hydroxide (KOH) tain from eye with preumed infectiou keratiti and cultured by direct plating onto tandard media. ample were alo held in tranport media (Amie without charcoal) at room temperature and then plated after 4 and 24 hour. Yield from direct plating v culture by mean of tranport media were compared. Reult Of 100 conecutive eye examined with preumed infectiou keratiti, Gram or KOH tain revealed a bacterial or fungal agent in 69 cae (69%). Of thee, 26 were bacterial and 43 fungal. Twenty-two bacterial infection produced poitive culture by direct plating, and all produced the ame organim with Amie medium after 4 and 24 hour, repectively. For 43 fungal infection identified by KOH tain, 29 (67%) yielded a poitive reult after 4 hour in Amie tranport medium and 27 (63%) after 24 hour in Amie medium. A total of three cae (7%) that howed fungal infection on KOH tain but did not yield organim by direct plating did o after inoculation with Amie tranport medium. For all comparion, there wa no difference in recovery rate by mean of tranport medium compared with direct plating (McNemar exact P > .05). Concluion In the clinical etting, Amie tranport medium may be a ueful alternative to direct inoculation onto blood agar for the laboratory evaluation of infectiou keratiti.