By means of the new medium, nonspecific
urethritis (NSU) chocolate
agar, NSU corymebacteria were isolated from patients with asymptomatic
bacteriuria,
bacteremia,
cervicitis, conjuctivitis, and
pericarditis, and also with bone marrow,
wound, and cul-de-sac
infections. The NSU corynebacteria were considered the etiologic agents. On the basis of biochemical reactions,
antibiotic sensitivity, and
complement fixation tests some isolates were the same microorganisms. Both patients with
conjunctivitis were infected with the same NSU corynebacteria. A second isolate was cultured from patients with
osteomyelitis and
cervicitis, while a third was recovered from an infected leg
wound and from a patient with
pericarditis. Seven of the isolates, when injected into rabbits hypersensitive to four NSU corynebacteria isolated from the inflamed epididymis of patients with
epididymitis, elicited
delayed hypersensitivity reactions, which indicated that they also were related antigenically. It is suggested that nonspecific
urethritis and eididymitis may represent an
infection with NSU corynebacteria, or may be an extension of
bacteriuria due to these microorganisms, with a
delayed hypersensitivity reaction as a possible additional complication. Colony counts on NSU chocolate
agar of the bacteria in urines from male and female patients were higher than those obtained on conventional
agar media. NSU chocolate
agar is superior to other
agar media for the isolation of pathogenic and saprophytic bacteria not only from the urogenital tract but also from other foci of
infection. It is easily prepared from commercial blood
agar plates and its use should be considered when a selective medium is not required.