A sputum swab culture method for tubercle bacilli using cetrimide compared with two others swab culture methods and the concentration culture method

A simple sputum swab culture method using cetrimide as the sole reagent was compared with two other swab culture methods (one employing sulphuric acid and the other oxalic acid) as well as with the sodium hydroxide concentration method. In smear-positive specimens, the cetrimide method was as sensitive as the other methods in detecting tubercle bacilli, but in smear-negative specimens it was appreciably less sensitive than the concentration method, although at least as sensitive as the other two swab methods. The incidence of contamination was least with the cetrimide method