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HelpTest Code FUNG Culture, Fungus-General
Synonyms/Keywords
Fungus culture, Candida culture, Culture for yeast
Specimen Requirements
| Fasting Required | Specimen Type | Preferred Container/Tube | Acceptable Container/Tube | Specimen Volume | Specimen Minimum Volume (allows for 1 repeat) |
Pediatric Minimum Volume (no repeat) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Any (except blood and bone marrow) | Sterile, leakproof container (e.g. Sage container) | 1 ESwab™ or other Amies medium based swab |
1-10 mL fluid or secretion or Amies medium based swab |
0.5 mL fluid or secretion |
|
| 0.5 g tissues | ||||||
|
1 ESwab™ or Amies medium based swab
(for oral or urogenital sources only) |
Acceptable Specimen Types
Bone, Bronchial, Catheter Tip, Fine Needle Aspirate, Fluid, Hardware, Respiratory Secretions, Swab, Synovial, Tissue, or Urine.
Collection/Processing Instructions
Specimens should be delivered to the microbiology laboratory as soon as possible. Culture of specimens older than 24 hours may lead to a reduction in recovery of microorganisms. Do not freeze specimens at -20oC, or in a frost-free freezer.
Specimens should be collected in sterile leakproof containers without preservatives. Moisten small pieces of tissue with several drops of sterile, non-bacteriostatic normal saline. Swab-collected specimens and fecal specimens are not recommended. One swab in Amies or Stuarts transport medium may be submitted from oral or urogenital sources: swabs from other sites are not recommended. Note: Swab specimens submittedfor fungal culture will not include fungal smear direct exam.
Swabs:
- ESwab™: one swab can be collected for Gram stain, aerobic, anaerobic cultures, and fungal cultures.
- Other Amies medium swab types: collect one swab for every culture and stain (including Gram stain) to be ordered.
See ESwab collection video for more information
For nail and skin samples, see Culture, Fungus-Dermal (FSKIN).
For blood and bone marrow fungal culture, see Fungal Culture, Blood (MISC).
For more information on Specimen Collection Media/Swab, see Specimen Transport Pictorial.
Specimen Stability Information
| Specimen Type | Temperature | Time |
|---|---|---|
| CSF | Room Temperature | <72 hours |
| Swabs (single, dual) in preservative median (Amies) | Room Temperature | ≤ 4 hours |
| Refrigerated | < 24 hours | |
| ESwab™ | Room Temperature | < 48 hours |
| Refrigerated | ||
| All other specimen types | Room Temperature | <1 hour |
| Refrigerated | <72 hours |
Rejection Criteria
| Dried swabs or tissues |
| Specimens submitted in formalin or other preservatives |
| Tissues in large volumes of saline |
| Swab specimens collected in preservative media (Amies) >24 hours |
| ESwab™ specimens >48 hours |
| Specimens older than 3 days |
| Leaking specimens |
Test Information
The fungal load in a clinical specimen may be low. Specimens with less than the recommended volumes may therefore lead to a false negative result.
Due to high incidence of blastomycosis in this region, a direct fungal exam is performed and billed on all lower respiratory tract and sinus specimens, and on pleural fluids that are submitted for fungal culture with the exception of swab specimens.
ESwab™ is a trademark of Copan Diagnostics.
Reference Range Information
| Performing Location | Reference Range |
|---|---|
| All Performing Sites |
No fungal elements observed (fungal smear) Culture negative for Fungi |
|
See Critical Value List for list of current critical values. |
|
Marshfield Labs Performing Department
Marshfield Labs Microbiology
Performing Information
| Performing Location | Day(s) Test Performed | Methodology/Instrumentation |
|---|---|---|
| Marshfield | Monday through Friday |
Conventional culture, microscopic exam with fungal-specific stain, manual or automated identification methods and nucleic acid sequence analysis as needed. |
CPT Codes
| CPT | Modifier (if needed) |
Quantity | Description | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 87102 | Culture, other source (except blood) | |||
| 87106 | (Yeast) Organism Identification | As needed | ||
| 87107 | (Mold) Organism Identification | As needed | ||
| 87206 | Direct microscopy, respiratory specimens | As needed | ||
| 87153 | Identification by nucleic acid sequencing method | As needed | ||
| 87186 | MIC susceptibility, micro-broth dilution | As needed |
Outreach CPT Codes
| CPT | Modifier (if needed) |
Quantity | Description | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 87102 | Culture, other source (except blood) | |||
| 87106 | (Yeast) Organism Identification | As needed | ||
| 87107 | (Mold) Organism Identification | As needed | ||
| 87206 | Direct microscopy, respiratory specimens | As needed | ||
| 87153 | Identification by nucleic acid sequencing method | As needed | ||
| 87186 | MIC susceptibility, micro-broth dilution | As needed |
Ordering Applications
| Ordering Application | Description |
|---|---|
| Cerner | Fungus Culture |