CULTURE, WOUND SUPERFICIAL

Message

Anaerobic culture must be ordered separately

Test Code

WNDCS

Alias/See Also

Wound culture

CPT Codes
87070 Culture, bacterial; any other source except urine, blood, or stool; aerobic with isolation and presumptive identification of isolates 87205 Smear, primary source with interpretation; Gram or Giemsa stain for bacteria, fungi, or cell types The following testing may be added, if appropriate, based on findings for oganism identification and to aid in patient treatment management. Please note: multiple additions are possible if more than one organism is identified 87076 Anaerobic isolate, additional methods required for definitive identification of isolates 87077 Aerobic isolate, additional methods required for definitive identification, each isolate (if appropriate) 87106 Culture, fungi, definitive identification, each organism, yeast (if appropriate) 87107 Culture, mold, definitive identification, each organism, mold (if appropriate) 87206 Smear, primary source with interpretation, fluorescent and/or acid fast stain for bacteria, fungi, or cell types (if appropriate) 87184 Susceptibility studies, disk method, per plate (if appropriate) 87185 Enzyme detection (e.g., beta lactamase) per enzyme (if appropriate) 87186 Susceptibility studies, microdilution or agar dilution, each multi-antimicrobial, per plate (if appropriate)

Includes

Includes: Culture, Gram Stain, Organism ID if indicated & Sensitivity if indicated

Preferred Specimen

e-Swab collection kit

Minimum Volume

Any

Instructions

Document source

Transport Temperature

Room temperature. Do NOT refrigerate.

Specimen Stability

Room temperature up to 2 days

Reject Criteria (Eg, hemolysis? Lipemia? Thaw/Other?)

The following conditions will result in specimen rejection: improperly labeled specimen; specimens with prolonged transit time; specimen not submitted in appropriate transport container; insufficient volume; external contamination.

Notification will be provided to the ordering physician office or hospital lab as appropriate in the event of a sample rejection.

Methodology
Routine culture

Setup Schedule

M, T, W, Th, F, Sa, Sun

Report Available

Final report available within 4 days of set up.

Reference Range

No growth

Critical/alert values:

Gram-negative rods identified as ESBL or Carbapenemase producers
MRSA isolated on an inpatient
Any culture positive for potential agents of Bioterrorism: Bacillus anthracis, Brucella, Burkolderia mallei/pseudomallei, Franciscella tularensis, or Yersinia pestis

Clinical Significance

A superficial wound culture should be ordered for those wounds that are on or near the surface of the skin. The superficial wound culture will evaluate the growth of aerobic bacteria only.

Performed By
Alverno Laboratories

Performing Laboratory
Alverno Central Lab
NMIC (Microbiology)

Last Updated: June 6, 2023

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.