Gram Stain Smear STAT

Message

All STAT sterile body fluid, wound, & tissue cultures, will have a gram stain made on site and resulted at the ordering facility. All CSF's are processed as STAT. Sterile body fluids (joint, pleural, pericardial, peritoneal) ordered in the ED are processed as STAT.

All routine gram stains will be performed by Microbiology Department at McKee Medical Center.

Test Code

Lab order GRAM - NOCO

CPT Codes
87205

Preferred Specimen

Specimen on swab or in sterile container.

Instructions

Specimen source is required for processing.

Collect as for specific bacterial culture.
Place specimen in a screw-capped sterile container, a swab transport system or syringe.
Label container (not the lid) or slide with two patient identifiers (full name, DOB or MR),specimen source, and date and time of collection.
Maintain sterility and forward promptly

Specimen Stability

Specimen Type	Temperature	Time
Sterile Container	Refrigerate	24 hours
Swab	Ambient	48 hours

Methodology
Gram Stain

Setup Schedule

Monday through Sunday; Continuously

Report Available

Same day

Reference Range

Sterile body sites: no organisms observed.
Critical value (automatic call-back): STAT requests and any positive on spinal fluid or sterile body fluid.

Performing Laboratory
Banner Fort Collins Medical Center Laboratory
McKee Medical Center Laboratory
North Colorado Medical Center Laboratory
Sterling Regional Medical Center
East Morgan County Hospital

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.