What is a bacteria culture test?
A bacteria culture test can help find harmful bacteria in your body. During a bacteria culture test, a sample will be taken from your blood, urine, skin, or other part of your body. The type of …
Can a bacterial stool culture be used to diagnose infectious diseases?
Jul 20, 2020 · Bacterial gastroenteritis is a disease that is pervasive in both the developing and developed worlds. While for the most part bacterial gastroenteritis is self-limiting, identification …
What is a bacterial blood test?
19 rows · In the context of infectious diseases, the term rapid diagnostic test (RDT) most commonly refers to lateral-flow, immunochromatographic tests used to detect certain …
How are viral infections diagnosed in the lab?
Jan 29, 2018 · This new molecular assay was deployed in a three-arm, single-center, prospective, randomized trial. The trial compared standard-of-care testing to the new BCID test with …
What is a bacteria culture?
Bacteria are a large group of one-celled organisms. They can live on different places in the body. Some types of bacteria are harmless or even beneficial. Others can cause infections and disease. A bacteria culture test can help find harmful bacteria in your body. During a bacteria culture test, a sample will be taken from your blood, urine, skin, ...
Can bacteria be harmful?
Some types of bacteria are harmless or even beneficial. Others can cause infections and disease. A bacteria culture test can help find harmful bacteria in your body. During a bacteria culture test, a sample will be taken from your blood, urine, skin, or other part of your body. The type of sample depends on the location of the suspected infection.
How long does it take for bacteria to grow?
Most disease-causing bacteria will grow enough to be seen within one to two days, but it can take some organisms five days or longer.
What is a urine test used for?
Used to diagnose a urinary tract infection and identify the bacteria causing the infection. Test procedure: You will provide a sterile sample of urine in a cup, as instructed by your health care provider.
What is a swab used for?
Test procedure: You may be asked to cough up sputum into a special cup as instructed by your provider; or a special swab may be used to take a sample from your nose.
What is stool culture?
Stool Culture. Another name for stool is feces. Used to detect infections caused by bacteria or parasites in the digestive system. These include food poisoning and other digestive illnesses. Test procedure: You will provide a sample of your feces in a clean container as instructed by your health care provider.
What is a parasite test?
Used to detect infections caused by bacteria or parasites in the digestive system. These include food poisoning and other digestive illnesses. Test procedure: You will provide a sample of your feces in a clean container as instructed by your health care provider.
What is the most advanced stage of HIV?
In contrast, if HIV has destroyed so many CD4 cells that you have a CD4 count of fewer than 200/mm 3, you are considered to have progressed to stage 3 (AIDS), the most advanced stage of HIV infection. Why it’s important: A CD4 count is a good measure of your risk of opportunistic infections and an indicator of how well your immune system is working.
Why is HIV screening important?
Why it’s important: Some HIV medications can have serious side effects, and this test helps your provider monitor the impact of your medications on your body’s ability to function normally. Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) Screening: These screening tests check for syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia.
Why is it important to know about HIV?
Why it’s important: For women living with HIV, abnormal cell growth in the cervix is common, and abnormal anal cells are common for both men and women living with HIV. These abnormal cells may become cancerous if they aren’t treated. Why it’s important: Some people who are living with HIV are also coinfected with hepatitis.
Why are lab tests important?
Lab Tests and Why They Are Important. As part of your HIV care , your provider will order several laboratory tests. The results of these lab tests, along with your physical exam and other information you provide , will help you and your provider work together to develop the best plan to manage your HIV care so that you can get ...
What is a CD4 test?
The lab tests may include: CD4 count: CD4 cells are a type of white blood cell. They are specialized cells of the immune system that are destroyed by HIV. A CD4 count measures how many CD4 cells are in your blood. The higher your CD4 cell count, the healthier your immune system. The CD4 count of an uninfected adult/adolescent who is generally in ...
Why is CD4 count important?
Why it’s important: A CD4 count is a good measure of your risk of opportunistic infections and an indicator of how well your immune system is working. Treatment with antiretroviral therapy (ART), medications that control the HIV, is recommended for everyone with HIV, no matter how high or low their CD4 count is.
What is a viral load test?
Viral Load (VL): An HIV viral load test, also called an HIV RNA test, tracks how many HIV particles are in a sample of your blood. This is called your viral load. Why it’s important: A goal of HIV treatment is to keep your viral load so low that the virus can’t be detected by a viral load test.
What is rapid diagnostic test?
In the context of infectious diseases, the term rapid diagnostic test (RDT) most commonly refers to lateral-flow, immunochromatographic tests used to detect certain infections. More generally, such assays may be described as point-of-care (POC) tests. Although there are no accepted criteria for what constitutes an RDT or POC test, ...
What are the most common travel-related diseases?
Respiratory infections are among the most common travel-related diseases. Individual and multiplex tests using nasopharyngeal swab samples are widely available for influenza A, influenza B, and respiratory syncytial virus. The sensitivity of rapid antigen tests for influenza is notably poor; negative results should not dictate therapy decisions and should be confirmed with molecular testing. Influenza subtyping is primarily used for public health surveillance and is not commonly available with rapid testing. Subtyping does not affect clinical decision making; however, this may change if certain strains or subtypes become markers for resistance to antiviral medications.
Can you use RDT for malaria?
RDTs alone may not be sufficient in many settings. A commercial RDT for malaria is cleared for use in US hospitals and laboratories but not for individual clinics. Microscopy is still recommended in positive cases to identify the species and calculate parasitemia.
What is a certificate of waiver?
Tests conducted under a certificate of waiver must be simple to perform with a low risk for yielding an incorrect result. Although mandated personnel requirements for waived tests are minimal, testers must be trained and have documented proficiency in assay performance. Additional considerations include the following:
What is the use of antiviral agents?
Use of antiviral agentsusually requires accurate laboratory identification of the infecting virus. In some chronic diseases, for example, those caused by HIV and hepatitis B virus, decisions about when to initiate therapy require a full understanding of clinical and laboratory findings.
What is an EIA?
EIAs can be designed in different formats to detect antigen or antibody.
Can antibodies be labeled with biotin?
Alternatively, the detector antibodies can be labeled with biotin and a positive reaction indicated using enzyme-labeled avidin. In another method, labeled staphylococcal protein A, which binds to the Fc moiety of IgG of most mammalian species, can be used as the indicator in indirect immunoassays.
Where can antigens be detected?
Viral (or non-viral) antigens can be detected in fixed or frozen tissue sections, or in exfoliated cells, using the same principles as above, where the cells or tissues on a glass slide fill the role of the solid support. Commonly used indicators include fluorescein, horseradish peroxidase, and alkaline phosphatase.
Lab Tests and Why They Are Important
Viral Load Test
- One important test is your HIV viral load test. It’s a lab test that measures how many HIV particles are in a sample of your blood. This is called your viral load. You want your viral load to be low. The higher your viral load, the greater your risk of becoming ill because of HIV and the more likely you are to transmit HIV. The viral load is highes...
CD4 Cell Count
- A CD4 cell countmeasures how many CD4 cells are in your blood. CD4 cells are infection-fighting cells of the immune system. As HIV disease advances, your CD4 count drops. The higher your CD4 cell count, the healthier your immune system. The CD4 count of an adult/adolescent who is generally in good health ranges from 500 to 1,200 cells/mm3. In contrast, if a person has a CD4 …
Other Important Lab Tests
- There are other lab tests that will help your health care provider get important information about your health and work with you to choose the right HIV medications for you. 1. Blood Chemistry Tests: This group of tests measures several different chemicals in your blood to help monitor the health of your organs, especially your heart, liver, and kidneys. Health care providers use these te…
Frequency and Timing of Testing
- After you start HIV treatment, not all lab tests will be conducted at every medical visit. Some will occur every few months. Others will depend on whether you are stable on HIV treatment and doing well. View this chartabout the timing of various tests and talk to your provider about what is recommended for you.