Blood culture studies in rheumatic fever patients.

Abstract

Among the reasons which may have been contributory to this situation are: a belief that the natural bactericidal power of the blood may preclude the demonstration of an infective agent; or, that the accepted blood culture techniques were inadequate for growing organisms from blood. The direct approach has therefore largely been abandoned in favor of indirect methods of elucidating the etiologic factors. The plan of the present study was to return to the direct observation of blood cultures using present day techniques.