Abstract:Objective To evaluate the performance of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-offlight mass spectrometry system (VITEK-MS) for direct detection of bacteria in the positive bottles by BacT/ALERT 3D blood culture system and its identification rate. Methods All positive blood culture botlles reported by BacT/ALERT 3D blood culture system that had been obtained from the patients in the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from September to November 2016 were selected. The bacteria were directly detected by VITEK -MS after differential centrifugation, and compared with the results by traditional biochemical identification. Results Among 150 positive blood culture bottles, there was no bacteria growth in 13 bottles; in the rest 137 bottles, VITEK-MS correctly identified 97 (70.8%), wrongly detected 10(7.3%), and could not identify 30 (21.9%). For Gram-negative bacilli, the correct identification rate was 88.4% (61 cases) and 8 cases (11.6%) were not identified. In Gram-positive cocci, the correct and wrong identification rate were 52.9% (36 cases) and 14.7% (10 cases), and 22 cases (32.4%) could not be identified. Conclusions The method of using VITEK-MS to identify the positive blood culture bottles is accurate and specific. The accurate identification rate of Gram-negative bacilli is much higher than that of Gram-positive cocci. The time for identification is reduced to 2 h. Thus, this method can provide rapid and reliable identification of microorganisms in blood culture bottles.