Rapid Diagnosis of Bacteremia With Quantitative Differential-Membrane Filtration Culture

In 13 cases of bacteremia, rapid bacteriological diagnosis was made through membrane filtration of extracellular organisms. Colonies isolated by filtration can be quickly identified with certain rapid tests. Blood may be processed so that extracellular bacteremia can be quantitatively distinguished from intraleukocytic and erythrocyte-associated infection. The importance of expediting diagnosis of bacteremia is discussed in the context of occurrence of serious bacterial infection in this antibiotic era.