Technical Center

BACTEC 9000 Blood Culturing Systems

1. What information is contained in the BACTEC™ barcode label/number?

The barcode number begins with 44, which identifies the product as a product of BD Diagnostics. The 3rd and 4th digits identify the medium type; the last 8 digits are the unique number for the vial.

2. What purpose do my generic barcodes have?

Generic barcodes are used when the vial barcode is unusable. If intact, they can be used more than once. They can be used on any BACTEC medium vial.

3. Can I draw blood directly from a patient into BACTEC vials?

A patient's blood can be drawn directly into a BACTEC bottle only if using a Vacutainer Blood Collection Set, or "butterfly". Blood cannot be drawn into a BACTEC bottle without the use of this item.

4. Can body fluids be tested in BACTEC/F series media?

Data for FDA clearance for testing sterile body fluids in BACTEC/F, with the exception of MYCO F/LYTIC and MYCO F/SPUTUM, have not been submitted.

5. Can I test Myco/F Sputa vials in the 9000 Blood Culturing Systems?

NO. The incubation temperature, agitation and reading times are different for the recovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Therefore, these vials should only be tested in the 9000MB instrument.

6. What options do I have, if my workload exceeds the capacity of my instrument(s)?

• Add another unit to the system, or
• Early removal of negative bottles (4 days). See instructions below:

At the 9000PC: From the main menu select <F3> Culture; recall record; place cursor under the "O" in Ongoing (Status field) and press <F9> to change the status to manual negative (N); press <F10> twice.
At the instrument, scan Remove Negatives and remove the vials. Vials that are < 5 days should be subcultured prior to reporting cultures as finalized negative.
For 9050, remove bottle(s) without scanning. The station(s) will become error(s). Resolve the error(s) by using the "force station available: soft key". Bottle(s) should be subcultured before reporting as finalized negative.

7. Under what circumstances must I subculture BACTEC vials?

The following circumstances require a subculture:

• overflow - early removal of negatives
• bad station errors
• positive(s)
• power failures of > 40 minutes
• mis-positioned vials

8. What is the difference between collection date/time and the start of protocol?

The collection date/time is intended to be the date and time the specimen was collected. The computer defaults to the current date and time. To correct the date and time, type the desired information in the date and time fields. If the BACTEC is connected to an LIS, the date/time information will be downloaded for the LIS.
The start of protocol is the time stamp each bottle receives when it is scanned into the instrument. In the case of anonymous vials, the start of protocol is the first time the instrument reads the vial.