Test ID: Screening Culture
|
Screening Culture (VRE)
|
|
Useful For
|
Identifying carriers of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci
|
Method name and description
|
Conventional Culture Technique
|
Clinical information
|
Enterococci are facultative anaerobic gram-positive cocci in pairs/chains that live in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and ordinarily function commensally with humans. However, they can cause a variety of infections, most commonly urinary tract infection (UTI), intraabdominal infection, bacteremia, or endocarditis. Rarely, they can cause meningitis, osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, or pneumonia. Additionally, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus often exists as a colonizing organism that does not always contribute to infection, making it more difficult to determine when and how to treat these infections. Despite these difficulties, infection of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus has been shown to increase both cost and mortality when compared to vancomycin-susceptible isolates. With increasing rates of vancomycin resistance among Enterococcus isolates, good stewardship combined with aggressive treatment with targeted antibiotics is necessary to treat this frequently encountered infection.
|
Aliases
|
- Screening Culture
- C Screening
- VRE Screening culture
- Culture screening VRE
|
|
Specimen type / Specimen volume / Specimen container
|
Specimen type: Rectal swab
Specimen container: Amies transport medium
|
Collection instructions / Special Precautions / Timing of collection
|
A saline moistened swab rotated in the rectum of the patient placed in Amies transport medium. (Rectal swab should have faecal material)
Swabs placed in Amies transport medium in a sealed plastic bag (biohazard bag) and forwarded promptly at ambient temperature.
Upon Doctor's request
|
Relevant clinical information to be provided
|
- Patient clinical condition
- Antimicrobial therapy
|
Storage and transport instructions
|
<2 hrs. at room temperature
|
Specimen Rejection Criteria
|
- Improper container
- Unlabeled/Mislabeled specimen
|
|
Biological reference intervals and clinical decision values
|
Culture:
Negative: “No Vancomycin-Resistant enterococci isolated”
Positive: “Vancomycin-Resistant enterococci isolated” (VRE)
Susceptibility report: Vancomycin
|
Factors affecting test performance and result interpretation
|
- Improper collection
- Improper technique
|
Turnaround time / Days and times test performed / Specimen retention time
|
Culture: 48-72 hrs.
24 Hrs./ 7days a week (7 AM to 3 PM)
48 Hrs. after final report
|
|
|