The antimicrobial activity of embalming chemicals and topical disinfectants on the microbial flora of human remains.

The antimicrobial activity of embalming chemicals an topical disinfectants was evaluated to determine the degree of disinfection achieved during the embalming of human remains. The administration of arterial and cavity embalming chemicals resulted in a 99% reduction of the postmortem microbial population after 2 hours of contact. This level of disinfection was maintained for the 24 hours test period. Topical disinfection of the body orifices was also observed. Therefore, it is probable that present embalming practices reduce the hazard from transmission of potentially infectious microbial agents within the immediate environment of embalmed human remains.

Direct comparison of the N-acetyl-l-cysteine-sodium hydroxide and the trisodium phosphate digestion methods for the culture of mycobacteria.

Comparison of sputum digestion procedures utilizing acetylcysteine-sodium hydroxide (AC) and trisodium phosphate for the isolation and culture of mycobacteria indicated that the AC procedure provides faster growth, thus permitting the earlier detection of positives. Also, in untreated patients and those in whom treatment has been recently instituted, the number of positives was slightly larger with the use of the AC procedure. However, of greater interest was finding that the AC procedure provided a larger quantity of positive cultures with sputum from subjects who had been intensively treated with antimicrobials and other drugs. Contamination was higher with the AC procedure, but when the sputa were diluted 1:10 this interference due to contamination was decreased.