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Test Code STUL Stool Culture (Stool for Enteric Pathogens / Stool EP)

Important Note

Submission of more than three consecutive specimens for stool culture will require consultation with the laboratory before testing will be performed.

 

All Inpatients with stool culture testing requested on or after the 4th inpatient day will require laboratory authorization before testing will be performed.

Infectious

Performing Laboratory

YRMC, Microbiology

Day(s) Test Set Up

Monday through Sunday

 

All Stool Cultures are screened for the following pathogens: Salmonella, Shigella, Yersinia, Campylobacter, E coli O157, Aeromonas  and Pleisiomonas.

 

Vibrio cultures are available upon special request.

 

Shiga toxin testing is performed on all stool specimens submitted for culture.

 

Cultures are held for 72 hours before a final report is issued

Specimen Requirements

Inpatient: Stool specimen submitted in a sterile urine container. 

Swabs are generally not acceptable for stool culture due to the reduced ability to recover Shigella species from swabs and the inability to perform Shiga toxin testing from a swab specimen.

Minimum Volume Requirements - 1 ml of liquid stool or 1 gram of soft stool

Outpatient: Stool specimen submitted in Cary Blair Transport Media.  Cary Blair 
Transport media containers not filled to the fill line may result in reduced ability to recover enteric pathogens

Specimen Transport Temperature

Ambient

 

Unpreserved specimens must arrive in the laboratory within 24 hours of collection.

Reference Values

No Salmonella, Shigella, Yersinia , Campylobacter or E coli O157 isolated.

Test Classification and CPT Coding

87045 – Culture bacterial, stool, aerobic, with isolation and preliminary examination, Salmonella and Shigella species.

87046 X 3 – stool, aerobic, additional pathogens, isolation and presumptive identification of isolates.

87427 X 2 – Shiga toxin testing, toxins A and B.

87015 – Concentration, for infectious agents.

Collection Instructions

Stool specimens collected into a sterile urine container. Specimens must not be contaminated with urine or other body fluids.

 

Replicate limit – one specimen per 24 hour period.

Methodology

Culture – conventional culture

Shiga toxin testing – immunoassay

Loinc Code

625-4