Diphtheria Culture
| WSLH Department: | CDD - Sendouts and Referred Testing |
| WSLH Test Code: | MP00380 |
| Availability: | |
| Turn-around Time: | |
| Recommended Uses: | Diagnosis of C. diphtheriae as causative agent of infection in patients whose symptoms may be suggestive. |
| Contraindications: | |
| Additional Tests Performed: |
| Patient Preparations: | |
| Specimen Requirements: | Throat, nasal and wound swabs, pseudo-membrane, and sputum. |
| Specimen Handling & Transport: | Store and transport specimens to the laboratory at refrigerated temperatures (2-8 degrees C) as soon as possible. Common transport media such as Amies or Stuart may be used for swabs. Pseudo-membrane should be sent in leak-proof container with saline, not formalin. |
| Collection Kit/Container: | |
| Collection Instructions: | Collect swabs from throat and nasopharynx per standard procedures. |
| Unacceptable Conditions: | Storage greater than 48 hours, missing patient identifiers. |
| Requisition Form: | |
| Required Information: | Laboratory regulations require the following minimum information to be provided on the requisition form for a specimen to be accepted for testing: Patient name or unique identifier; date and time of collection, patient date of birth and sex, specimen type/site of collection, test request(s), clinician name and UPIN, and address for reporting results. Please be certain that name/identifier on the form matches that on the specimen label. |
| Results Include: | |
| Limitations: | Prior antibiotic treatment will adversely affect results. Suboptimal volumes of specimens may adversely affect the sensitivity of tests performed therefore it is very important to obtain an acceptable volume and a quality specimen. Clinical specimens collected subsequent to initiation of antimicrobial treatment may not be positive for Corynebacterium species due to reduction of organisms. Whenever possible, specimens collected prior to administration of antimicrobial agents should be used to determine infection with Corynebacterium species. |
| Additional Tests Recommended: | |
| Additional Comments: | This test is not on the requisition form. Please write in under "other tests." |
| Methodology: | |
| Includes: | Culture for Corynebacterium diphtheriae performed by CDC <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> As of August 2019, the WSLH Communicable Disease Division has discontinued performing culture for Corynebacterium diphtheriae (test code MP00380). |
| CPT Code: | 87081 |
| Price: | $62.00 |