NOCARDIA CULTURE
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Available Stat? | No |
| Test code | MC |
| Performed by? | Microbiology (Mycology) |
| Sendout? | no |
| Price range | $$$ |
| In House Availability | 7 days |
| Interpretation | Nocardia are inhabitants of the soil and water. They infect humans by inhalation of the organisms and primary establishment of growth in the lungs or by inoculation through breaks in the skin. The infection is usually chronic but occasionally is fulminant, and is usually seen in immunosuppressed patients. Infections with Nocardia cause acute, necrotizing pyogenic or chronic exudative inflammatory infections. Lesions may be deep, soft tissue abscesses or may communicate with the outer skin as burrowing sinus tracts. Pneumonic processes and/or lymphocutaneous infection can occur. Hematogenous dissemination involving the central nervous system may result in brain abscesses. |
| Container type | sterile tube or cap |
| Special instructions | Since Nocardia would not be recovered in a routine request for a culture, specify Nocardia in the fungal culture section of the Microbiology requisition. |
| Stability | Keep sterile tube or cup at room temperature until the next messenger pick up. |
| References | 1. Clinical Microbiology Procedures Handbook, HD Isenberg Ed., Amer. Soc. for Microbiol., Washington DC, 2004. 2. Forbes BA, et al. Bailey and Scott's Diagnostic Microbiology, 11th Ed., Mosby, St. Louis MO, 2002. 3. Murray PR, et al. Manual of Clinical Microbiology, 9th Ed., ASM Press, Washington, DC, 2007. |
| Last Updated | 8/19/2009 1:32:21 PM |