What is BAL and sputum?

Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is a medical procedure in which a bronchoscope is passed through the mouth or nose into the lungs. Fluid is then squirted into a small part of the lung and then recollected for analysis. Sputum is a combination of saliva and phlegm or mucus that is expelled from the upper respiratory tract.

What is Gram stain in sputum test?

A sputum Gram stain is a laboratory test used to detect bacteria in a sputum sample. Sputum is the material that comes up from your air passages when you cough very deeply.

What are Gram negative rods in sputum?

Gram-negative bacteria include the following: Pseudomonas aeruginosa: P aeruginosa is an aerobic, motile bacillus often characterized by its distinct (grapelike) odor. Klebsiella pneumoniae: K pneumoniae is a facultatively anaerobic, encapsulated bacillus that can lead to an aggressive, necrotizing, lobar pneumonia.

Is the Gram stain useful in the microbiologic diagnosis of VAP a meta analysis?

In a meta-analysis examining respiratory specimen Gram stain for diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia, absence of bacteria on Gram stain had a high negative predictive value, but a positive Gram stain correlated poorly with organisms recovered in culture.

What’s the difference between sputum and phlegm?

What can sputum tell us? Sputum is produced when a person’s lungs are diseased or damaged. Sputum is not saliva but the thick mucus – sometimes called phlegm – which is coughed up from the lungs.

What is a lung wash out?

The solution is a technique known as lung lavage, or lung washing, to flush the surfactant build-up from the lungs. Clinicians insert twin endotracheal tubes into the lungs while the patient is under anesthesia. They stream saline into one while the other receives oxygen to keep the patient breathing.

How do you interpret a Gram stained sputum?

What do the results mean? If the test results from your sputum Gram’s stain are abnormal, it means that bacteria and white blood cells have been detected. The bacteria found will be Gram-positive or Gram-negative.

Are Gram-negative rods normal in sputum?

These data imply that, in at least some cases, isolation of Gram-negative rods from sputum of untreated patients may be a normal finding, and that in some patients with pulmonary infection, the pretreatment, upper respiratory tract flora may serve as the source of subsequent superinfection with Gram-negative rods.

Can a smoker repair their lungs?

Your lungs have an almost “magical” ability to repair some of the damage caused by smoking – but only if you stop, say scientists. The mutations that lead to lung cancer had been considered to be permanent, and to persist even after quitting.

Are there any gram positive cultures of sputum?

The Gram stain and culture of sputum samples obtained from patients who have received antibiotic treatment was unreliable. The presence of gram-positive diplococci and gram-negative coccobacilli was highly specific for the culture of S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae, respectively.

How often are sputum and Balf cultures the same?

In only six cases (21%) were the sputum and BALF culture results the same. Prior to 11 bronchoscopies, the sputum was not adequate. The remaining 11 cases either had different pathogens in the BAL (six cases), or had some but not all of the BALF pathogens in the sputum. BALF cultures changed therapy in 13 (48%) of cases.

How often are Balf cultures positive for pathogens?

Gram stain of the BALF was positive in 18 cases. In all but one BALF, > 10,000 colony-forming units per milliliter (cfu/ml) BALF of one or more pathogens was identified. The final case grew Burkholderia cepacia, which was not grown in the sputum. In only six cases (21%) were the sputum and BALF culture results the same.

Which is better for Gram stain etsas or sputum?

Sputum and ETSAs with ≤10 SECs per LPF were considered to be adequate for Gram stain report and for culture, whereas those with >10 SECs per LPF were rejected. Plates (5% sheep blood, Columbia with colistin and nalidixic acid, MacConkey and chocolate agars) were incubated for 48 h in 5% CO 2 and read after 24 h and 48 h.