PCR-based differentiation of phenotypically similar gram-negative bacilli recovered from CSF samples

Abstract

Broad-range bacterial PCR combined with DNA sequencing was used as a means of identifying clinically relevant isolates of gram-negative bacilli recovered from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Genes coding for bacterial 16S rRNA genes were amplified. The study was designed to compare phenotypic with molecular identification. These results indicated that preliminary phenotypic testing had misidentified several isolates due to the morphological changes induced by the antibiotics. This invites efforts to be focused on the application of PCR with broad-range bacterial primers to improve the etiologic diagnosis of bacterial infections.