Efficiency of HiCrome Acinetobacter Agar in identifying A. baumannii from different clinical specimens

Acinetobacter baumannii is an opportunistic bacterial pathogen that is commonly linked to hospital-acquired infections. This pathogen is responsible for many life-threatening infections caused worldwide; therefore, it is crucial to isolate and identify A. baumannii rapidly and precisely. This study was carried out to determine the efficiency of HiCrome Acinetobacter Agar in identifying A. baumannii from different clinical specimens. In an attempt to isolate Acinetobacter species, 170 distinct specimens were collected from wounds, burns, sputum, and CSF. Samples were streaked on HiCrome Acinetobacter Agar and the isolation percentage of A. baumannii was determined according to colony color (yellow to light purple). Results showed that this medium was not only selective for Acinetobacter species, but also other genera that were not related to Acinetobacter may also grow and produce other colors that the Himedia company did not mention. Accordingly, the isolation rate for A. baumannii changed from 95.5% to 38.9% when adding the oxidase test and to 14.4% when adding lactose fermentation on MacConkey agar and finally to 13.3% when isolates was further identified using 16S rRNA sequencing. Results showed that 24/35 purple colonies belonged to members of the enterobacteriaceae and 51/90 total colonies were identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The higher isolation rate observed for P. aeruginosa suggests that HiCrome Acinetobacter agar could be used as a selective and differential media for isolation of P. aeruginosa from clinical specimens.