Microorganism Control & Safety
This process removes all forms of microbial life, including spores.
What is sterilization?
The best urine specimen for routine culture is this type of collection.
What is a first-morning clean-catch (midstream) urine specimen?
This differential stain is the most commonly used stain in clinical microbiology.
What is the Gram stain?
This differential medium separates lactose fermenters from non-lactose fermenters.
What is MacConkey agar?
Bubbles after adding hydrogen peroxide indicate a positive result for this test.
What is the catalase test?
This anticoagulant is commonly used in blood culture collection.
What is SPS (sodium polyanethol sulfonate)?
This moist heat method uses 121°C, 15 psi, for 15 minutes.
What is autoclaving?
Specimens should ideally arrive in the laboratory within this time after collection.
What is 30 minutes?
Gram-positive bacteria retain this primary stain.
What is crystal violet?
Complete clearing around colonies on blood agar is this type of hemolysis.
What is beta hemolysis?
This test differentiates Staphylococcus aureus from other staphylococci.
What is the coagulase test?
A blackened bile esculin medium suggests organisms belonging to this group.
What are Group D Streptococcus or Enterococcus?
All blood and body fluids are treated as potentially infectious under these precautions.
What are Standard Precautions?
This preservative is commonly used in urine culture tubes.
What is boric acid?
Human cells should appear this color on a properly performed Gram stain.
What is pink to red?
Green discoloration surrounding colonies on blood agar indicates this hemolytic pattern.
What is alpha hemolysis?
A positive PYR differentiates Enterococcus from this group.
What is non-Enterococcus Group D streptococcus?
A stool culture specimen should be transported in this medium for bacterial culture.
What is Cary-Blair transport medium?
This biosafety level requires a Class II or III BSC and negative-pressure rooms because aerosol transmission is possible.
What is BSL-3?
A CSF specimen falls into this specimen-priority level.
What is Level 1 (critical/invasive)?
A sputum specimen containing more than 25 squamous epithelial cells per LPF is considered this.
What is unacceptable for culture?
This technique uses a light source behind the blood agar plate to better visualize hemolysis.
What is transillumination?
This disk test is used to presumptively identify Streptococcus pneumoniae.
What is the optochin (P disk) test?
A Gram-positive coccus in chains that is beta-hemolytic and bacitracin sensitive is presumptively identified as this organism.
What is Streptococcus pyogenes?
This biological indicator is used to monitor steam sterilization effectiveness.
What is Geobacillus stearothermophilus?
When inoculating multiple media plates, cultures should be inoculated from the most ______ medium to the most ______ medium.
What are enriched and selective?
If Gram-negative bacteria appear Gram-positive, the smear was likely affected by this staining error.
What is underdecolorization?
Streamers, vines, and puff-ball growth patterns in broth are classically associated with this bacterial group.
What are streptococci?
Pink colonies on MacConkey agar, oxidase negative, and indole positive most strongly suggest this organism.
What is Escherichia coli?
A specimen arrives unlabeled, leaking, and 3 hours old without preservative. This laboratory action should occur.
What is specimen rejection?