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Eye Culture
MessageEye for FUNGUS Culture refer to C F
For Chlamydia trachomatis Culture of conjunctiva refer to C CLAM
For Acanthamoeba refer to C ACANTH
For Chlamydia trachomatis Culture of conjunctiva refer to C CLAM
For Acanthamoeba refer to C ACANTH
Test Code
C EYE
Includes
Routine Eye Culture includes Gram stain
Preferred Specimen
Superficial Eye Infection
Collection device: synthetic flocked swab (eSwab) with liquid Amies transport medium
- Swab of eyelid margin
- Swab of conjunctival surface/pus
- Swab of lacrimal duct or discharge/pus
Corneal scrapings
- Collection device: synthetic flocked swab (eSwab) with liquid Amies transport medium
- Collect by aspiration
Instructions
Superficial Eye Infection
Collection instructions: For conjunctival cultures, roll the swab firmly over the conjunctiva (avoid the eyelashes and eyelid margin). For eyelid margin cultures, roll the swab firmly across the anterrior eyelid margin and ulcerated areas.
Periorbital cellulitis - collection instructions:
- Cleanse the skin with alcohol and tincture or iodophor.
- Collect the purulent material with a syringe and needle. Submit the specimen in a capped syringe with the needle removed and transport immediately to laboratory.
- Dacryoadenitis - collect purulent discharge by using an eSwab
- Dacrycystitis - collect exudate with a swab or in a needle and syringe
- Canaliculitis - compress the inner aspect of the eyelid to express pus and collect specimen using an eSwab.
Inner-eye Specimens
- Corneal Scrapings - collection instructions: place the corneal scraping in the into the liquid Amies that is associated with eSwab.
- Vitreous fluid - collection instructions: collect an aspirate of the fluid using a needle aspiration technique. Submit the specimen in a capped syringe with the needle removed.
Transport Temperature
Ambient / Room temperature
Specimen Stability
Send to the Lab within 2 hours of collection. Specimen should be received in lab <24 hours
FOR VITREOUS FLUID, VOLUME IS OFTEN SUBOPTIMAL - SPEED IN TRANSPORT AND CAREFUL HANDLING IS CRUCIAL.
Store at Ambient / Room temperature
FOR VITREOUS FLUID, VOLUME IS OFTEN SUBOPTIMAL - SPEED IN TRANSPORT AND CAREFUL HANDLING IS CRUCIAL.
Store at Ambient / Room temperature
Reject Criteria (Eg, hemolysis? Lipemia? Thaw/Other?)
Unacceptable specimens:
Dry swabs
Excessive transport time (>24 hours). If specimen is received after 24 hours, specimen will be rejected and test cancelled, unless irretrievable.
Dry swabs
Excessive transport time (>24 hours). If specimen is received after 24 hours, specimen will be rejected and test cancelled, unless irretrievable.
Report Available
The Gram stain report will be available <24 hours.
A preliminary culture report will be available <24 hours.
A final negative culture report will be generated <4 days.
All positive cultures will be reported immediately.
A preliminary culture report will be available <24 hours.
A final negative culture report will be generated <4 days.
All positive cultures will be reported immediately.
Clinical Significance
The significance of any isolate(s), in pure or mixed culture, must be assessed with respect to the source cultured, the organism's pathogenic potential, the possibility of colonization versus infection, and the number of other organisms recovered from the same culture.
