Culture is considered the gold standard for definitive diagnosis of mycobacterial infections. However, consensus about the most suitable culture procedure for isolation of nontuberculous mycobacteria is lacking. The study compared the recoveries of mycobacteria after decontamination of spiked and fresh avian feces with 4% sodium hydroxide (NaOH), 12% sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄), or 1% cetylperidinium chloride (CPC), with and without mixture of three antibiotics, namely vancomycin (VAN, 100 μg/ml), nalidixic acid (NAL, 100 μg/ml), and amphotericin B (AMB, 100 μg/ml). The antibiotic mixture was referred to as VNA. Decontamination procedures were evaluated using two (n = 2) avian fecal samples spiked with 10⁶, 10⁴, and 10² CFU/ml of Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium (ATCC 15769) and fresh avian feces (n = 42). M. avium subsp. avium was detected on the culture media from spiked samples (10⁶ and 10⁴ CFU/ml) decontaminated with NaOH, NaOH-VNA, H₂SO₄, and H₂SO₄ -VNA for 2−6 weeks. These bacteria were detected in 2–4 weeks when using CPC and CPC-VNA. M. avium subsp. avium cannot be isolated on culture media from spiked samples (10² CFU/ml) decontaminated with any decontaminating agent. Two mycobacterial isolates, namely, Mycobacterium terrae and M. engbaekii, were isolated from field samples decontaminated with NaOH and CPC-VNA. With regard to the contamination rate, the use of CPC-VNA showed lower contamination rates (5.5% and 19.0%) from spiked and field samples than those of the other methods (NaOH: 22.2% and 59.5%, NaOH-VNA: 16.7% and 21.4%, H₂SO₄: 11.1% and 40.5%, H₂SO₄-VNA: 5.5% and 21.4%, and CPC: 66.7% and 50%). In conclusion, the decontamination of fecal samples following a two-step procedure with 1% CPC and VNA can ensure high recovery rate of many mycobacteria with the lowest contamination in cultures.

培养被认为是分枝杆菌感染明确诊断的金标准。然而，对于分离非结核分枝杆菌的最合适的培养程序缺乏共识。该研究比较了用 4% 氢氧化钠 (NaOH)、12% 硫酸 (H ₂ SO ₄ ) 或 1% 氯化十六烷基哌啶 (CPC) 对加标和新鲜禽类粪便进行净化后分枝杆菌的回收率，无论是否使用这三种物质的混合物抗生素，即万古霉素（VAN，100 μg/ml）、萘啶酸（NAL，100 μg/ml）和两性霉素 B（AMB，100 μg/ml）。抗生素混合物被称为VNA。使用掺有 10 ⁶、10 ⁴和 10 ² CFU/ml鸟分枝杆菌亚种的两份 ( n = 2) 禽类粪便样品评估净化程序。avium (ATCC 15769) 和新鲜禽类粪便 ( n = 42)。米。鸟亚种 在用 NaOH、NaOH-VNA、H ₂ SO ₄和 H ₂ SO ₄ -VNA 净化 2−6 周的加标样品（10 ⁶和 10 ⁴ CFU/ml）的培养基上检测到avium 。使用 CPC 和 CPC-VNA 时，这些细菌会在 2-4 周内被检测到。米。鸟亚种 无法从用任何去污剂去污的加标样品 (10 ² CFU/ml)的培养基上分离出avium 。两种分枝杆菌分离株，即土分枝杆菌和分枝杆菌。engbaekii是从用 NaOH 和 CPC-VNA 净化的现场样品中分离出来的。关于污染率，使用 CPC-VNA 的加标样品和现场样品的污染率（5.5% 和 19.0%）低于其他方法（NaOH：22.2% 和 59.5%，NaOH-VNA：16.7%） (H ₂ SO ₄：11.1%和40.5%，H ₂ SO ₄ -VNA：5.5%和21.4%，以及CPC：66.7%和50%)。总之，采用 1% CPC 和 VNA 的两步程序对粪便样本进行净化可以确保许多分枝杆菌的高回收率，并且培养物中的污染程度最低。