Lowenstein-Jensen Selective Medium for Reducing Contamination in Mycobacterium tuberculosis Culture

We compared Mycobacterium tuberculosis sputum culture recovery and contamination rates between Lowenstein-Jensen medium (LJ) containing the following decontaminants and LJ alone: (i) PANTA ( n = 299), (ii) Selectatab-MB ( n = 299), and (iii) penicillin G ( n = 234). The contamination rate for LJ alone was approximately 31%, versus 5.0% for PANTA-containing, 2% for Selectatab-containing, and 9% for penicillin-containing media ( P < 0.001). M. tuberculosis isolation rates were 9.8%, 17%, 18%, and 12% for standard LJ, PANTA, Selectatab, and penicillin cultures, respectively.