The microscopic world of microbes – bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites – plays a significant role in our health. Microbiology laboratories play a vital role in healthcare by providing diagnostic tests to identify these tiny organisms and determine their impact on our well-being.
This article provides a comprehensive overview of some of the most commonly performed tests in a microbiology department:
List of Tests done in the Department of Microbiology:
A: TESTS DONE IN BACTERIOLOGY LABORATORY :
| S.N | TEST NAME | SAMPLE | SAMPLE QUANTITY/ VOLUME | Collection container | SPECIAL COMMENTS |
| 1 | Bacterial culture and sensitivity testing (Aerobic) | Urine | 3- 5 mL | Universal Container | Midstream urine sample ispreferred after |
| cleaning the local | |||||
| periurethral area | |||||
| Sputum | 2-5 ml | UniversalContainer | Avoid Saliva | ||
| Endotracheal aspirate | 2-5 ml | Universal Container | |||
| Pus | 2-3 ml | Either universal container orSwab | |||
| CSF/Bodyfluids | 2-5ml | Universal container | Do not sendsyringes with | ||
| needles | |||||
| Stool | Pea size | Universal container | Avoid mixing with urine | ||
| 2 | Automated bacterial culture sensitivity testing | Same as above | Same as above | Same as above | Same as above |
| 3 | Gram Stain | Sputum | 1-2 ml | Universal container | Avoid Saliva |
| ET aspirate | 1-2 ml | Universalcontainer | |||
| Body fluids | 1-2 ml | Universalcontainer | |||
| 4 | BacterialAnaerobic culture | Pus aspirate | 3-5ml | Universal container | Swabs notpreferable. |
| and sensitivity | Maintain strict | ||||
| anaerobic | |||||
| environment |
| while transportation of samples | |||||
| 5 | Clostridium difficile toxin assay | Stool | 1-2 ml; fresh or refrigerate d liquid or unformed stool | Universal container | |
| 6 | Blood culture and sensitivity | Blood | 8-10ml per bottle.Send a set of 2 bottles (Aerobic/A naerobic) inoculated from single venupunct ure (Adults).Send 2 sets preferably from 2 separate venupunct ure from 2 sites | Blood culture bottles | Skin asepsis to be done by either “alcoholic chlorhexidine” or “70% alcohol +10% Povidone Iodine” |
| 1-5ml (Neonates & Children)/b ottle | Blood culture bottles | For newborns 2 separate alcohol wipes for skin asepsis | |||
| 7 | Water Testing for coliforms | Water Source (tap water) | 50ml | Water testing bottle | Clean the tap area aseptically and before collection of tap water, let it runfor 15minutes. |
B: TESTS DONE IN VIROLOGY LABORATORY:
| S.N | VIRUS | Test Name | SAMPLE | SAMPLE QUANTITY/ VOLUME | Collection container |
| 1 | Hepatitis A | Anti Hepatitis A IgM | SERUM | 2-3ml whole blood | Plain Vial |
| 2 | Hepatitis B | HBsAg | SERUM | 2-3ml whole blood | Plain Vial |
| 3 | Anti-HBs IgM | SERUM | 2-3ml whole blood | Plain Vial | |
| 4 | Anti-HBc IgM | SERUM | 2-3ml whole blood | Plain Vial | |
| 5 | HBeAg | SERUM | 2-3ml whole blood | Plain Vial | |
| 6 | Anti-Hbe IgM | SERUM | 2-3ml whole blood | Plain Vial | |
| 7 | HBV DNA(quantitative) | BLOOD | 5ml whole blood | EDTA Vial | |
| 8 | Hepatitis C | Anti HCV antibody | SERUM | 2-3ml whole blood | Plain Vial |
| 9 | HCVgenotyping | BLOOD | 5ml whole blood | EDTA Vial | |
| 10 | HCV RNA(quantitative) | BLOOD | 5ml whole blood | EDTA Vial | |
| 11 | Hepatits E | Anti HEV IgM | SERUM | 2-3ml whole blood | Plain Vial |
| 12 | Japanese Encephalitis | IgM ELISA | CSF / SERUM / BLOOD | 2-3ml whole blood | Plain Vial |
| 13 | Herpes Simplex virus | Tzanck smear for inclusion bodies | Vesicular fluid | 2-3ml fluid | Plain Vial |
C: TESTS DONE IN SEROLOGY LABORATORY:
| S.N | TEST NAME | SAMPLE | SAMPLE QUANTITY/ VOLUME | Collection container | SPECIAL COMMENTS |
| 1 | Procalcitonin assay | SERUM | 5mL whole blood | Plain Vial | |
| 2 | RA (Quantitative) | SERUM | 2-3ml whole blood | Plain Vial | |
| 3 | RA factor (Semiquantitative) | SERUM | 2-3ml whole blood | Plain Vial | |
| 4 | CRP (Quantitative) | SERUM | 2-3ml whole blood | Plain Vial | |
| 5 | CRP ( Semiquantitative) | SERUM | 2-3ml whole blood | Plain Vial | |
| 6 | ASO (Quantitative) | SERUM | 2-3ml whole blood | Plain Vial | |
| 7 | ASO (Semiquantitative) | SERUM | 2-3ml whole blood | Plain Vial | |
| 8 | Anti-CCP antibodies (ELISA) | SERUM | 2-3ml whole blood | Plain Vial | |
| 9 | Rapid card test for Typhoid- IgM/IgG | SERUM | 2-3ml whole blood | Plain Vial | |
| 10 | WIDAL tube test | SERUM | 5ml whole blood | Plain Vial | |
| 11 | Rapid Leptospira IgM test | SERUM | 2-3ml whole blood | Plain Vial | |
| 12 | RPR (Rapid Plasma Reagin) | SERUM | 2-3ml whole blood | Plain Vial | |
| 13 | Treponema pallidum haemagglutination test (TPHA) | SERUM | 2-3ml whole blood | Plain Vial | |
| 14 | Chikungunya antibody test (IgM Capture ELISA) | SERUM | 2-3ml whole blood | Plain Vial | Test is free of cost as kits are supplied by NIV Pune |
D: TESTS DONE IN IMMUNOLOGY LABORATORY
| S.N | TEST NAME | SAMPLE | SAMPLE QUANTITY/ VOLUME | Collection container | SPECIAL COMMENTS |
| 1 | CMV IgM ELISA | SERUM | 1ml (2ml) | Plain Vial | |
| 2 | HIV (CARD TEST) | SERUM | 1ml (2ml) | Plain Vial | |
| 3 | Dengue IgM ELISA | SERUM | 1ml (2ml) | Plain Vial | Free of cost, since the kit is provided by NIV Pune |
| 4 | HIV ELISA | SERUM | 1ml (2ml) | Plain Vial | |
| 5 | HSV 1+2 IgM ELISA | SERUM | 1ml (2ml) | Plain Vial | |
| 6 | Rubella IgM ELISA | SERUM | 1ml (2ml) | Plain Vial | |
| 7 | TORCH IgM ELISA(Toxoplasma, Rubella, Cytomegalovirus, Herpes simplex) | SERUM | 1ml (2ml) | Plain Vial | |
| 8 | Toxoplasma IgM ELISA | SERUM | 1ml (2ml) | Plain Vial | |
| 9 | NS1 Antigen | SERUM | 1ml (2ml) | Plain Vial | |
| 10 | CMV IgG ELISA | SERUM | 1ml (2ml) | Plain Vial |
E: TESTS DONE IN MYCOBACTERIOLOGY LABORATORY:
| S.N | TEST NAME | SAMPLE | SAMPLE QUANTITY/ VOLUME | Collection container | SPECIAL COMMENTS |
| 1 | Slit skin smear for M.leprae | Scraping from skin/site | — | — | Patient to be referred to Microbiology Dept. |
| 2 | AFB smear for TB | Sputum/ CSF/ Pus/ Body fluid/ Tissue | Sputum > 2ml Tissue > 1gm CSF > 3mlPus > 2mlBody fluid > 3ml Urine – early morning urine max 500 ml | Sputum in sterile wide mouth container after rinse/gargle.Cough deeply. Others by aseptic/standar d procedures. CSF/body fluid in sterile container.Tissue in sterile container with or withoutNormal saline | |
| 3 | Routine Mycobacterial culture and sensitivity | Sputum/CSF/pu s/ body fluid/ tissue | Sputum > 2ml Tissue > 1gm CSF > 3mlPus > 2mlBody fluid > 3ml Urine – early morning urinemax 500 ml | Same as above | |
| 4 | MGIT TBculture | Sputum/CSF/pu s/ body fluid/ tissue | Sputum > 2ml Tissue > 1gm CSF > 3mlPus > 2mlBody fluid > 3ml Urine – early morning urinemax 500 ml | Same as above | |
| 5 | MGIT TBculture and AST for primary | Sputum/CSF/pu s/ body fluid/ tissue | Sputum > 2ml Tissue > 1gm CSF > 3mlPus > 2ml | Same as above |
| and secondary drugs | Body fluid > 3ml Urine – early morning urinemax 500 ml | ||||
| 6 | MTB Complex genotype and RIF and INH RE (LPA for MDR TB) | Only pulmonary samples | Sputum > 2ml BAL >1mlPleural fluid>3ml | Sputum in sterile wide mouth container after rinse/gargle.Cough deeply. Other respiratory samples by aseptic/standard procedures. | |
| 7 | Real Time PCR for Mycobacteriu m tuberculosis | Sputum/ CSF/ Pus/ Body fluid/ Tissue (Except Blood) | Sputum > 2ml Tissue > 1gm CSF > 3mlPus > 2mlBody fluid > 3ml Urine – early morning urine max 500 ml | Sputum in sterile wide mouth container after rinse/gargle.Cough deeply. Others by aseptic/standar d procedures. CSF/body fluid in sterile container.Tissue in sterile container with or withoutNormal saline | |
| 8 | GeneXpert test for TB | Sputum/ CSF/ Pus/ Body fluid/ Tissue (Except Blood and urine) | Sputum > 2ml Tissue > 1gm CSF > 3mlPus > 2mlBody fluid > 3ml | Sputum in sterile wide mouth container after rinse/gargle.Cough deeply. Others by aseptic/standar d procedures. CSF/body fluid in sterile container.Tissue in sterile container withor without Normal saline |
F: TESTS DONE IN PARASITOLOGY LABORATORY:
| S.N | TEST NAME | SAMPLE | SAMPLE QUANTITY/ VOLUME | Collection container | SPECIAL COMMENTS |
| 1 | Malaria antigen (rapid test) | Whole blood | 2ml | EDTA vial | |
| 2 | Blood smear for MP | Whole blood | 2ml | EDTA vial | |
| 3 | Antigen detection for Filariasis (rapid test) | Whole blood | 2ml | EDTA vial | |
| 4 | Blood smear for MF | Whole blood | 2ml | EDTA vial | |
| 5 | Stool for Occult blood | Stool | Pea size | UniversalContainer | |
| 6 | Microscopy Stool (Routine) | Stool | Pea size | Universal Container | |
| 7 | Special staining for opportunistic parasite (Stool) | Stool | Pea size | Universal Container | |
| 8 | IgG ELISA for Echinococcus | Serum | 1ml (2ml blood) | Plain vial | |
| 9 | Microscopy for Hydatid cyst | Cyst fluid | 1ml | Universal Container | |
| 10 | IgG ELISA for Cysticercosis | Serum | 1ml (2ml blood) | Plain vial |
G: TESTS DONE IN MYCOLOGY LABORATORY :
| S.N | TEST NAME | SAMPLE | SAMPLE QUANTITY/ VOLUME | Collection container | SPECIAL COMMENTS |
| 1 | Cryptococcal diagnostic assay (Antigen + Microscopy) | CSF, SERUM | CSF – 1mlSerum – 1ml | Plain vial | Do not send syringes with needles |
| 2 | KOH Mount for Mycology (Skin Scraping) | Skin/Nail/Hair | Sterile Black paper | Patient to be referred to Mycology Laboratory for sample collection | |
| 3 | Culture – Fungal Routine | Respiratory sample/Body fluid/Pus/Urine/ Tissue | 1-2ml | Universal container | Do not send syringes with needles |
| 4 | Fungal Blood Culture | Blood | 8-10ml/bottle. Send a set of 2 bottles inoculated from single venupuncture (Adult). Send 2 sets preferably, 2 separate venupuncture from2 sites | Blood culture bottle | |
| 5 | Microscopy for fungi | Respiratory sample/Body fluid/Pus/Urine/ Tissue | 1-2ml | Universal container | |
| 6 | Special staining – sputum for opportunistic pathogen | Respiratory sample/Body fluid | 1-2ml | Universal container | Do not send syringes with needles |
| 7 | Automated Yeast Identification Culture and | — | — | When yeast is isolated in all the above samples,requisition |
| sensitivity | for Automated Yeast identification culture and sensitivity can done from ward/clinic in consultation with MycologyLaboratory |
H: MICROBIOLOGY TESTS DONE IN EMERGENCY LABORATORY :
| S.N | TEST NAME | SAMPLE | SAMPLE QUANTITY/ VOLUME | Collection container | SPECIAL COMMENTS |
| 1 | DENGUE NSI ANTIGEN/ANTIBODYcombo (Rapid test) | SERUM | 1ml(2ml blood) | Plain vial | Only available in emergency. Results must be confirmed with ELISA |
| 2 | HIV (Rapid test) | SERUM | 1ml(2ml blood) | Plain vial | Only available in emergency. Results must be confirmed with ELISA |
| 3 | HBsAg (Rapid test) | SERUM | 1ml(2ml blood) | Plain vial | Only available in emergency. Results must be confirmed with ELISA |
| 4 | HCV (Rapid test) | SERUM | 1ml(2ml blood) | Plain vial | Only available in emergency. Results must be confirmed with ELISA |
References: https://www.drrmlims.ac.in/
