PROPER DIAGNOSIS OF INFECTION

Proper Diagnosis of infection requires:

• Patient History

• Physical Examination

• Evaluating patient’s sign and symptoms

• Implementing appropriate clinical specimen

Clinical Specimen

• Blood Urine

• Feces Cerebrospinal Fluids

• Sputum Throat swab

• Wound specimen

Importance of High Quality Specimen

• To achieve accurate, clinically relevant laboratory results.

• To provide information about the patient’s infectious disease properly.

Component of Specimen Quality

• Proper Specimen Selection

• Proper Specimen Collection

• Proper transport of the specimen to the laboratory.

Effects of improper collection of Specimen:

• The etiologic agent may not be found or may be destroyed.

• Overgrowth by indigenous micro flora may mask the pathogen.

• Contaminants may interfere.

Proper Selection, Collection & Transport of Specimen

• The specimen must be properly and carefully selected.

• The specimen must be properly and carefully collected.

• The material should be collected from site where the suspected pathogen is most

likely to be found.

• Whenever possible, specimen should be obtained before anti microbial therapy

begun.

• The acute stage of the disease is the most appropriate time to collect most specimen.

• Specimen collection should be performed with care and tact to avoid harming the

patient.

• A sufficient quality of the specimen must be obtained to provide enough material for

all required diagnostic tests.

• All specimen should be placed or collected into a sterile container to prevent

contamination.

• Specimen should be protected from heat and cold and promptly delivered to the

laboratory.

• Hazardous specimen must be handled with even greater care to avoid contamination

of the courier, patients and health care professionals.

• Whenever possible sterile or dispose specimen container properly

• The specimen container should be properly labeled.

Terminologies

• Pathology- the study of the structural and functional manifestation of disease.

• Pathologist- a physician who has had an extensive , specialized training in pathology

• Anatomical Pathology- where pathologist performed autopsies in the morgue and

examine diseased organs, stained tissue sections and cytology specimen.

• Clinical pathology- consist of blood bank, clinical microscopy,hematology .,

immunology lab

Specimen used for bacteria

• Blood Bone marrow Sputum

• CSF Cervical and vaginal swab Urogenital secretion

• Conjunctival swab Feces and rectal swab Tissue specimen

• Nasal swab Pus from wound

• Synovial fluid Throat swab

Virus

• Blood Bronchial washes. CSF

• Conjunctival swab Tissue specimen

• Feces and rectal swab Throat swab Urine

Fungi

• Blood CSF Skin scrapping

• Hair clipping Nail Clipping

• Sputum Tissue specimen

Parasite

• Blood CSF Feces/ rectal Swab

• Scotch tape prep Urogenital secretion

• Skin snip Sputum

• Tissue specimen Urine