Routine Culture Setup and
Interpretationcontinued
Clinical Microbiology Review 220
SPECIMEN MEDIA NORMAL FLORA COMMON PATHOGENS OTHER
Stool
Genital
CSF
Polys = invasive diarrhea;
e.g., Salmonella, Shigella,
Campylobacter, EIEC, C. difficile.
No polys = enterotoxin-
mediated diarrhea; e.g., ETEC,
Vibrio. RBCs with EHEC.
Gram stain
Use tube 2. Handle stat. Don’t
refrigerate. Use of cytocen-
trifuge to concentrate speci-
men increases sensitivity of
Gram stain. Use slides that
Anaerobes, Enterobac-
teriaceae, enterococci,
strep, yeast
Urethra: CNS, diph-
theroids.Vagina, pre-
pubescent/postmeno-
pausal: yeast, GNR,
GPC. Vagina, reproduc-
tive years: Lactobacillus,
GPC. Surgical/aspirates:
none
None
SBA, MAC or EMB,
XLD or HE, Campy
blood. Some labs
also use SMAC, CIN,
and/or TCBS
SBA, CHOC, MAC,
Thayer-Martin. Add
THIO & anaerobic
media for tissue &
aspirates
SBA, CHOC. MAC.
Some add THIO
Salmonella, Shigella, Campy-
lobacter, diarrheagenic E. coli,
Aeromonas, Plesiomonas, Y.
enterocolitica, Vibrio
N. gonorrhoeae, C. albicans,
GBS, S. aureus.Surgical/
aspirates: also anaerobes
GBS (infants), Listeria (infants,
elderly), H. influenzae (unim-
munized children), N. menin-
gitidis, S. pneumoniae, GNR.
Any isolate significant
continued...
