Influence of patient hemogram on growth index values generated from a radiometric detection device.

Blood samples from 20 patients with widely varying concentrations of erythrocytes and leukocyte subtypes were inoculated into BACTEC 6B bottles (Johnston Laboratories, Inc., Towson, Md.). There was no relationship between growth index value and hemogram. Although sterile blood is capable of generating small amounts of 14CO2, the mechanism for this phenomenon is not related to the concentration of a specific type of blood cell.