Wound Culture (Anaerobic)

Message
Wound Culture (Aerobic) refer to C WD
Wound Culture for AFB (includes AFB smear) Synonyms: TB, Mycobacteria, MAC, MAI, atypical Mycobacteria refer to C AFB
Wound for FUNGUS culture (mould) refer to C F


Test Code
C WDAN


Preferred Specimen
Actual fluid or tissue, or collection by needle aspiraton
If must use swabs, use anaerobic transport media and collect material from as deep in wound as possible. 
eSwabs also acceptable for anaerobic culture.


Instructions
NOTE: Methods for collection should circumvent collecting of normal flora and exposing the specimen to environmental conditions detrimental to anaerobes.
Describe exact type and location of wound, such as:
Left leg laceration
Right hand cellulitis
Chest tube drainage
Sternal wound


Specimen Stability
For Fluid: Send to the Lab within 30 minutes of collection.
For Tissue samples: In sterile container, send to Lab within 2 hours of collection
For Swabs or other samples in anaerobic transport tubes: Send to the Lab within 2 hours of collection.
DO NOT refrigerate specimens.
DO NOT place specimens on ice.


Reject Criteria (Eg, hemolysis? Lipemia? Thaw/Other?)
Unacceptable specimens:
Routine culture swabs for anaerobic culture
Swabs in Viral Transport Medium
Excessive transport time


Clinical Significance
Deep wound/abscess infections are often caused by a mixture of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. Proper specimen collection and transport, media and incubation are important criteria for the recovery of organisms.  The Gram stain is a critical test for the rapid, presumptive diagnosis of infectious agents and also serves to assess the quality of clinical specimens. The results of aerobic/anaerobic cultures assist the clinician with diagnosis and treatment of patients with bacterial infections. Proper interpretation of culture results is dependent on specimen source and known pathogenicity of the isolated organism.




The CPT Codes provided in this document are based on AMA guidelines and are for informational purposes only. CPT coding is the sole responsibility of the billing party. Please direct any questions regarding coding to the payor being billed. Any Profile/panel component may be ordered separately. Reflex tests are performed at an additional charge.