Laboratory Diagnosis of Bacterial Diseases

Vocabulary flashcards for the Laboratory Diagnosis of Bacterial Diseases lecture.

Bacteremia

The presence of bacteria in the blood.

Fungemia

The presence of fungi in the blood.

Septicemia

Infections caused by bacteria or fungi in the blood.

Blood Culture

An important procedure in the clinical microbiology laboratory used to detect bacteria or fungi in the blood.

Bacterial Meningitis

A serious disease associated with high morbidity and mortality if the etiologic diagnosis is delayed.

Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF)

Fluid collected via lumbar puncture to diagnose bacterial meningitis.

Pharyngitis

Inflammation of the pharynx, commonly caused by Group A Streptococcus.

Epiglottitis

Infection of the epiglottis, which should not be cultured due to risk of airway obstruction.

Sinusitis

Infection of the sinuses, commonly caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, or Moraxella catarrhalis.

Tympanocentesis

Aspiration of middle ear fluid used to diagnose middle ear infections.

Ocular Infections

Infections of the eye, requiring immediate inoculation of culture media upon specimen collection.

Urine Culture

A common test used for detecting bacterial infections in the urinary tract.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis

Two bacteria that are detected using nucleic acid amplification due to culture methods being insensitive.

Treponema pallidum

The agent of syphilis, diagnosed using darkfield microscopy or blood serology.

Clostridium difficile

A significant cause of antibiotic-associated gastrointestinal diseases, diagnosed by testing for toxins or toxin genes in the stool.

NAAT

Nucleic acid amplification test, the most sensitive and specific test for Clostridium difficile.