Comparison of BD Bactec Plus blood culture media to VersaTREK Redox blood culture media for detection of bacterial pathogens in simulated adult blood cultures containing therapeutic concentrations of antibiotics

Antibiotic neutralization in blood culture media from two automated systems was evaluated by measuring the recovery of organisms and times to detection in simulated cultures. Overall, BD Bactec Plus media (Bactec FX system) outperformed TREK 80 ml Redox media (VersaTREK system), although results suggest a relative rather than an absolute increased rate of recovery for the Bactec media.