Could you tell us what lab you use and what units your lab gives you the results for cultures. Is it a greater than 50CFU/ml number or is it the actual colonies? I don't know what's better.

Thanks

Jerry,

Bacteria:
<200 CFU/mL MAX LIMIT
50 CFU/mL is the ACTION level [i.e. redraw/disinfection]

Endotoxins:
<2 EU/mL MAX LIMIT
1 EU/mL action level

You can send your cultures out to an outside lab via: Spectra Labs, some people prefer others. You can also do them in-house.

If you are using a millipore paddle, any "dot" you see on the paddle (under a magnifying glass in well lit area) counts as a CFU (Colony Forming Unit).

Hope this helps.

S.A.

Jerry,

You should request that you receive culture and LAL results in actual counts not <50 CFUs or >200 CFUs. <50 could mean 49 . . . close enough for action. Actually I think that 40 is close enough for action, but that's just me.

The lab we use (Nationwide) seems to only report in multiples of 10 cfu/ml.

Larry (Florian) gave a very good talk at a NANT symposium a couple years ago that illustrated how inaccurate various sampleing methods were when you're dealing with such a minute amount of bacteria.

For those that don't know, Larry is on the AAMI committee and for all the good it does, he is one of the few voices of reason they have. He should be commended for all the (FREE) help and education he gives to all of us on this forum as well as the rest of the community!

Chuck

We use our hospital's lab. The results are reported in multiples of 10.

Ameriwater is our lab supplying exact results.

We use the Milipore samplres. We sent to a lab to compare and very close.