Sputum culture questions

M

MCGrad2006

Guest
When I went to clinic to pick up my eflow and aztreonam last night, they gave me a copy of my sputum culture results and I have a few questions that I hope someone can answer...or give advice on.

1) The first thing listed is gram stain. The results say abundant POLYS, few gram negative rods and few gram positive cocci. WTF does this mean? What is a gram stain? And what are gram positive/negative crap? I know I have heard of them before...

2) I have three different staph aureus...One is abundant and the other two are moderate. They are all mulitply resistant (to Methicillin and other abx). One of the staph's is also listed under Rare Fungi. What in the world is that?

And finally, my PA is MUCOID...which, yes I saw the pics. AWESOME...or not...but the good thing about that is that it is listed as FEW.

thanks for your help!
 
M

MCGrad2006

Guest
When I went to clinic to pick up my eflow and aztreonam last night, they gave me a copy of my sputum culture results and I have a few questions that I hope someone can answer...or give advice on.

1) The first thing listed is gram stain. The results say abundant POLYS, few gram negative rods and few gram positive cocci. WTF does this mean? What is a gram stain? And what are gram positive/negative crap? I know I have heard of them before...

2) I have three different staph aureus...One is abundant and the other two are moderate. They are all mulitply resistant (to Methicillin and other abx). One of the staph's is also listed under Rare Fungi. What in the world is that?

And finally, my PA is MUCOID...which, yes I saw the pics. AWESOME...or not...but the good thing about that is that it is listed as FEW.

thanks for your help!
 
M

MCGrad2006

Guest
When I went to clinic to pick up my eflow and aztreonam last night, they gave me a copy of my sputum culture results and I have a few questions that I hope someone can answer...or give advice on.

1) The first thing listed is gram stain. The results say abundant POLYS, few gram negative rods and few gram positive cocci. WTF does this mean? What is a gram stain? And what are gram positive/negative crap? I know I have heard of them before...

2) I have three different staph aureus...One is abundant and the other two are moderate. They are all mulitply resistant (to Methicillin and other abx). One of the staph's is also listed under Rare Fungi. What in the world is that?

And finally, my PA is MUCOID...which, yes I saw the pics. AWESOME...or not...but the good thing about that is that it is listed as FEW.

thanks for your help!
 
M

MCGrad2006

Guest
When I went to clinic to pick up my eflow and aztreonam last night, they gave me a copy of my sputum culture results and I have a few questions that I hope someone can answer...or give advice on.

1) The first thing listed is gram stain. The results say abundant POLYS, few gram negative rods and few gram positive cocci. WTF does this mean? What is a gram stain? And what are gram positive/negative crap? I know I have heard of them before...

2) I have three different staph aureus...One is abundant and the other two are moderate. They are all mulitply resistant (to Methicillin and other abx). One of the staph's is also listed under Rare Fungi. What in the world is that?

And finally, my PA is MUCOID...which, yes I saw the pics. AWESOME...or not...but the good thing about that is that it is listed as FEW.

thanks for your help!
 
M

MCGrad2006

Guest
When I went to clinic to pick up my eflow and aztreonam last night, they gave me a copy of my sputum culture results and I have a few questions that I hope someone can answer...or give advice on.

1) The first thing listed is gram stain. The results say abundant POLYS, few gram negative rods and few gram positive cocci. WTF does this mean? What is a gram stain? And what are gram positive/negative crap? I know I have heard of them before...

2) I have three different staph aureus...One is abundant and the other two are moderate. They are all mulitply resistant (to Methicillin and other abx). One of the staph's is also listed under Rare Fungi. What in the world is that?

And finally, my PA is MUCOID...which, yes I saw the pics. AWESOME...or not...but the good thing about that is that it is listed as FEW.

thanks for your help!
 
K

KrazyKat

New member
Ok, i can share what i know which isn't much, i'm sure somebody else can give you a better rundown.
Gram stain is the type of test they do, just the name of it.
Abundant Polys - i think are polymorphs which are a type of while blood cell that go to areas in the body when infection/inflammation are present.
Gram Negative Rods and gram positive cocci are the types of bacteria that are appearing in your gram stain. I believe pseudos are gram negative and normal bacteria and staph are positive, but don't quote me on that!!
sorry probably not much help but i'm not as clued up as some of the peeps on this site <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0">
 
K

KrazyKat

New member
Ok, i can share what i know which isn't much, i'm sure somebody else can give you a better rundown.
Gram stain is the type of test they do, just the name of it.
Abundant Polys - i think are polymorphs which are a type of while blood cell that go to areas in the body when infection/inflammation are present.
Gram Negative Rods and gram positive cocci are the types of bacteria that are appearing in your gram stain. I believe pseudos are gram negative and normal bacteria and staph are positive, but don't quote me on that!!
sorry probably not much help but i'm not as clued up as some of the peeps on this site <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0">
 
K

KrazyKat

New member
Ok, i can share what i know which isn't much, i'm sure somebody else can give you a better rundown.
Gram stain is the type of test they do, just the name of it.
Abundant Polys - i think are polymorphs which are a type of while blood cell that go to areas in the body when infection/inflammation are present.
Gram Negative Rods and gram positive cocci are the types of bacteria that are appearing in your gram stain. I believe pseudos are gram negative and normal bacteria and staph are positive, but don't quote me on that!!
sorry probably not much help but i'm not as clued up as some of the peeps on this site <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0">
 
K

KrazyKat

New member
Ok, i can share what i know which isn't much, i'm sure somebody else can give you a better rundown.
Gram stain is the type of test they do, just the name of it.
Abundant Polys - i think are polymorphs which are a type of while blood cell that go to areas in the body when infection/inflammation are present.
Gram Negative Rods and gram positive cocci are the types of bacteria that are appearing in your gram stain. I believe pseudos are gram negative and normal bacteria and staph are positive, but don't quote me on that!!
sorry probably not much help but i'm not as clued up as some of the peeps on this site <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0">
 
K

KrazyKat

New member
Ok, i can share what i know which isn't much, i'm sure somebody else can give you a better rundown.
Gram stain is the type of test they do, just the name of it.
Abundant Polys - i think are polymorphs which are a type of while blood cell that go to areas in the body when infection/inflammation are present.
Gram Negative Rods and gram positive cocci are the types of bacteria that are appearing in your gram stain. I believe pseudos are gram negative and normal bacteria and staph are positive, but don't quote me on that!!
sorry probably not much help but i'm not as clued up as some of the peeps on this site <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0">
 
J

JustDucky

New member
Okay, I will give a whack at it....When you give a sample, the micros in the lab do an observation of what they see is in your sputum called gram staining. They stain the sample and look under the microscope. What they can tell is what type of bacteria is under there and how much at a glance. Pseudo family (steno, cepacia, PA) enteric bacteria (such as E coli and others) and other families will stain red (Gram negative) and have the shape of rods or bacilli. If they are round, the shape is coined cocci. If the baceria turn blue then they are gram positive. Staph does fall into this category. This just gives the micro an idea of what might be in that sample. They also look for the amounts. It can be reported as few or rare (which would not be much of a bacterial load), to 1+, 2+, 3+ and 4+. Sometimes even "loaded" is reporte, where there is a huge abundance of bacteria. The 1+, 2+ is how many bacteria they see in their field. As the numbers get higher, the more bacteria they see in the microscope.

After they have done the initial observation, they then plate it and incubate the sample. Several tests are run to ID the bacteria or fungi that might be cooking on them.

Yes, polys are WBC's and do indicate inflammation. People with an active infection have more WBC's in their sputum.

3 different types of S. aureus? If it is methicillin resistant, then it is MRSA. It is possible to have different strains of S. aureus (actually there are quite a few), each with its own unique characteristics such as resistance etc...Lab tests can differentiate between them.

That is wierd that one of your staph species is located under rare fungi....staph are bacteria. I wonder if they meant that they saw rare fungi as well...Wierd.

I hope that this helps....hugs Jenn <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
 
J

JustDucky

New member
Okay, I will give a whack at it....When you give a sample, the micros in the lab do an observation of what they see is in your sputum called gram staining. They stain the sample and look under the microscope. What they can tell is what type of bacteria is under there and how much at a glance. Pseudo family (steno, cepacia, PA) enteric bacteria (such as E coli and others) and other families will stain red (Gram negative) and have the shape of rods or bacilli. If they are round, the shape is coined cocci. If the baceria turn blue then they are gram positive. Staph does fall into this category. This just gives the micro an idea of what might be in that sample. They also look for the amounts. It can be reported as few or rare (which would not be much of a bacterial load), to 1+, 2+, 3+ and 4+. Sometimes even "loaded" is reporte, where there is a huge abundance of bacteria. The 1+, 2+ is how many bacteria they see in their field. As the numbers get higher, the more bacteria they see in the microscope.

After they have done the initial observation, they then plate it and incubate the sample. Several tests are run to ID the bacteria or fungi that might be cooking on them.

Yes, polys are WBC's and do indicate inflammation. People with an active infection have more WBC's in their sputum.

3 different types of S. aureus? If it is methicillin resistant, then it is MRSA. It is possible to have different strains of S. aureus (actually there are quite a few), each with its own unique characteristics such as resistance etc...Lab tests can differentiate between them.

That is wierd that one of your staph species is located under rare fungi....staph are bacteria. I wonder if they meant that they saw rare fungi as well...Wierd.

I hope that this helps....hugs Jenn <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
 
J

JustDucky

New member
Okay, I will give a whack at it....When you give a sample, the micros in the lab do an observation of what they see is in your sputum called gram staining. They stain the sample and look under the microscope. What they can tell is what type of bacteria is under there and how much at a glance. Pseudo family (steno, cepacia, PA) enteric bacteria (such as E coli and others) and other families will stain red (Gram negative) and have the shape of rods or bacilli. If they are round, the shape is coined cocci. If the baceria turn blue then they are gram positive. Staph does fall into this category. This just gives the micro an idea of what might be in that sample. They also look for the amounts. It can be reported as few or rare (which would not be much of a bacterial load), to 1+, 2+, 3+ and 4+. Sometimes even "loaded" is reporte, where there is a huge abundance of bacteria. The 1+, 2+ is how many bacteria they see in their field. As the numbers get higher, the more bacteria they see in the microscope.

After they have done the initial observation, they then plate it and incubate the sample. Several tests are run to ID the bacteria or fungi that might be cooking on them.

Yes, polys are WBC's and do indicate inflammation. People with an active infection have more WBC's in their sputum.

3 different types of S. aureus? If it is methicillin resistant, then it is MRSA. It is possible to have different strains of S. aureus (actually there are quite a few), each with its own unique characteristics such as resistance etc...Lab tests can differentiate between them.

That is wierd that one of your staph species is located under rare fungi....staph are bacteria. I wonder if they meant that they saw rare fungi as well...Wierd.

I hope that this helps....hugs Jenn <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
 
J

JustDucky

New member
Okay, I will give a whack at it....When you give a sample, the micros in the lab do an observation of what they see is in your sputum called gram staining. They stain the sample and look under the microscope. What they can tell is what type of bacteria is under there and how much at a glance. Pseudo family (steno, cepacia, PA) enteric bacteria (such as E coli and others) and other families will stain red (Gram negative) and have the shape of rods or bacilli. If they are round, the shape is coined cocci. If the baceria turn blue then they are gram positive. Staph does fall into this category. This just gives the micro an idea of what might be in that sample. They also look for the amounts. It can be reported as few or rare (which would not be much of a bacterial load), to 1+, 2+, 3+ and 4+. Sometimes even "loaded" is reporte, where there is a huge abundance of bacteria. The 1+, 2+ is how many bacteria they see in their field. As the numbers get higher, the more bacteria they see in the microscope.

After they have done the initial observation, they then plate it and incubate the sample. Several tests are run to ID the bacteria or fungi that might be cooking on them.

Yes, polys are WBC's and do indicate inflammation. People with an active infection have more WBC's in their sputum.

3 different types of S. aureus? If it is methicillin resistant, then it is MRSA. It is possible to have different strains of S. aureus (actually there are quite a few), each with its own unique characteristics such as resistance etc...Lab tests can differentiate between them.

That is wierd that one of your staph species is located under rare fungi....staph are bacteria. I wonder if they meant that they saw rare fungi as well...Wierd.

I hope that this helps....hugs Jenn <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
 
J

JustDucky

New member
Okay, I will give a whack at it....When you give a sample, the micros in the lab do an observation of what they see is in your sputum called gram staining. They stain the sample and look under the microscope. What they can tell is what type of bacteria is under there and how much at a glance. Pseudo family (steno, cepacia, PA) enteric bacteria (such as E coli and others) and other families will stain red (Gram negative) and have the shape of rods or bacilli. If they are round, the shape is coined cocci. If the baceria turn blue then they are gram positive. Staph does fall into this category. This just gives the micro an idea of what might be in that sample. They also look for the amounts. It can be reported as few or rare (which would not be much of a bacterial load), to 1+, 2+, 3+ and 4+. Sometimes even "loaded" is reporte, where there is a huge abundance of bacteria. The 1+, 2+ is how many bacteria they see in their field. As the numbers get higher, the more bacteria they see in the microscope.

After they have done the initial observation, they then plate it and incubate the sample. Several tests are run to ID the bacteria or fungi that might be cooking on them.

Yes, polys are WBC's and do indicate inflammation. People with an active infection have more WBC's in their sputum.

3 different types of S. aureus? If it is methicillin resistant, then it is MRSA. It is possible to have different strains of S. aureus (actually there are quite a few), each with its own unique characteristics such as resistance etc...Lab tests can differentiate between them.

That is wierd that one of your staph species is located under rare fungi....staph are bacteria. I wonder if they meant that they saw rare fungi as well...Wierd.

I hope that this helps....hugs Jenn <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
 
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