Clinical Bacteriology Program Photo Album Respiratory Samples

	Photo Album: Respiratory Samples
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Contact us to obtain critiques older than 5 years. Scroll down to find Critique number of older challenges and a brief description. Some older archived critiques are included in this list, but CMPT advises visitors to also consult recent literature.
To enlarge an image, please click on the small pictures shown below. See links posted above to other pages of the CMPT Photo Album. The contrast or brightness of some of the photographs has been altered to either best show the bacteria and/or cells. See Gram Interpretive Criteria All images Copyright CMPT 1994 - 2011
G112 Sputum smear for gram stain: 4+ (>10/oif) PMNs, no epithelial cells, 4+ (>50/oif) gram negative bacilli
G101 Sputum smear for gram stain: 4+ (>25/lpf) neutrophils, no epithelial cells seen, 3+ (11-50/oif) gram negative diplococci/cocci, moderate mucus. Suitable to culture. Companion culture yielded Moraxella catarrhalis	G012 Sputum smear: > 25 epithelial cells per low power field [lpf, x10]), few Unsuitable for culturing. Low power view.
G043 Sputum smear for Gram stain: 4+ (> 25/low power field) neutrophils, 4+ (> 50/ oil immersion field) gram-negative bacilli/coccobacilli, 2+ (2-10/oif) gram-positive cocci Interpretation: Suitable to culture. Companion culture yielded Haemophilus parainfluenzae.	G92 Sputum smear: Greater than 25 epithelial cells/lpf suggesting oral contamination Interpretation: unsuitable for culture Low power view.
G021 Sputum smear: suitable to culture, > 25 neutrophils, < 10 epithelial cells/lpf; 4+ gram-positive bacilli, 2+ gram-positive cocci/oif Companion culture (Corynebacterium pseudodiphtheriticum)	G91 Sputum smear: Greater than 25 epithelial cells/lpf suggesting oral contamination Interpretation: unsuitable for culture (Oil immersion view shown. Interpret number of epithelial cells on low power. Confirm cellular and bacterial morphology on oil immersion.)
G24 Sputum smear: suitable to culture, > 25 neutrophils, 10-15 epithelial cells/lpf; 4+ gram-negative coccobacilli, 1+ gram-positive cocci, plus mixed normal resp. flora/oif Also read M052-4 Aug Companion culture yielded Acinetobacter baumannii, a gram-negative coccobacillary rod, frequently arranged in pairs.	G061 Sputum smear: 3+ neutrophils, 2+ yeast cells, 3+ gram-negative diplococci – Suitable for culturing. Click to enlarge image. No companion culture. Lymphoma patient. Yeast cells = Cryptococcus neoformans; gram-negative diplococci=Moraxella catarrhalis
G23 Sputum smear: suitable to culture, > 25 neutrophils, 10-15 epithelial cells/lpf; 4+ gram-positive bacilli, 2+ gram-positive cocci in pairs/oif Companion culture positive for Streptococcus pneumoniae and Corynebacterium pseudodiphtheriticum.	G063 Sputum smear for Gram staining: 4+ (> 25/lpf, > 10/oif) neutrophils, 1+ (1-4/lpf, [<1/oif]) epithelial cells, 4+ gram-positive cocci (suggestive of S. pneumoniae), 2+ gram-negative diplococci/cocci Interpretation: suitable to culture Please click image to enlarge. The companion sample for culture, M063-3, contained Streptococcus pneumoniae and Moraxella catarrhalis.
G044 Endotracheal aspirate smear for Gram stain: no neutrophils, rare epithelial cells, 4+ (> 50/ oil immersion field) gram-negative bacilli) The companion sample M044-2 yielded Serratia NOTE: In the presence of a burn injury this patient would be considered as immunosuppressed, and as such the absence of neutrophils does not necessarily represent absence of infection. This sample could either reflect colonization, or infection. G044 was the companion sample to M044-2, which yielded 4+ Serratia marcescens.	G082
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