Stool culture is the traditional method for identification of bacterial gastrointestinal (GI) pathogens. Many of these pathogens are fastidious and can be rendered non-viable during transport to the microbiology laboratory. This is especially problematic as most patients submitting specimens for bacterial GI testing are in the outpatient setting. Traditional GI pathogen testing can take 3 days to report a negative specimen. Exploring a hybrid testing approach using a mix of traditional and molecular microbiology techniques may decrease turnaround time on negative specimens.

 

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