Simplified acetylcysteine-alkali digestion-decontamination procedure for isolation of mycobacteria from clinical specimens

During our attempts to reevaluate and improve mycobacteriology laboratory procedures, we found that isolation of mycobacteria from undecontaminated specimens through the use of selective media was unrewarding and that specimen decontamination was an essential step. A reevaluation of the N-acetyl-L-cysteine-sodium hydroxide (NALC-NaOH) decontamination procedure (G. P. Kubica, W. E. Dye, M. L. Cohn, and G. Middlebrook, Am. Rev. Respir. Dis. …