DCA agar

WikiDoc Resources for DCA agar
Articles
Most recent articles on DCA agar Most cited articles on DCA agar Review articles on DCA agar Articles on DCA agar in N Eng J Med, Lancet, BMJ
Media
Powerpoint slides on DCA agar Images of DCA agar Photos of DCA agar Podcasts & MP3s on DCA agar Videos on DCA agar
Evidence Based Medicine
Cochrane Collaboration on DCA agar Bandolier on DCA agar TRIP on DCA agar
Clinical Trials
Ongoing Trials on DCA agar at Clinical Trials.gov Trial results on DCA agar Clinical Trials on DCA agar at Google
Guidelines / Policies / Govt
US National Guidelines Clearinghouse on DCA agar NICE Guidance on DCA agar NHS PRODIGY Guidance FDA on DCA agar CDC on DCA agar
Books
Books on DCA agar
News
DCA agar in the news Be alerted to news on DCA agar News trends on DCA agar
Commentary
Blogs on DCA agar
Definitions
Definitions of DCA agar
Patient Resources / Community
Patient resources on DCA agar Discussion groups on DCA agar Patient Handouts on DCA agar Directions to Hospitals Treating DCA agar Risk calculators and risk factors for DCA agar
Healthcare Provider Resources
Symptoms of DCA agar Causes & Risk Factors for DCA agar Diagnostic studies for DCA agar Treatment of DCA agar
Continuing Medical Education (CME)
CME Programs on DCA agar
International
DCA agar en Espanol DCA agar en Francais
Business
DCA agar in the Marketplace Patents on DCA agar
Experimental / Informatics
List of terms related to DCA agar

DCA agar - Deoxycholate Citrate Agar - is particularly useful for the isolation of organisms that cause bacilliary dysentery, salmonella strains that cause food poisoning and Salmonella Paratyphi. It is not so selective for Salmonella Typhi. This growth medium is inhibitory to most gut bacteria, in particular species of the genus Proteus, although these species do survive on DCA agar. It is therefore essential that suspected pathogens must be subcultured on a less inhibitory medium prior to identification. Salmonella spp appear to be yellow or colourless colonies, often with a dark centre. As there are many bacteria that also look like Salmonella on DCA, it is widely recommended that more selective agars are used for the identification of Salmonella, namely xylose lysine deoxycholate (XLD) agar. This growth medium is heat-sensitive and should be poured and cooled as soon as possible after addition of the deoxycholate, otherwise it tends to become very soft and difficult to handle. It has a pH of approximately 7.3, and when poured and cooled, appears light to dark pink in colour. DCA agar contains:

'Lab Lemco' powder	5g/l
Peptone	5g/l
Lactose	10g/l
Sodium citrate	8.5g/l
Sodium thiosulfate	5.4g/l
Ferric citrate	1g/l
Sodium deoxycholate	5g/l
Neutral red	20mg/l
Agar	12g/l