Sputum is material coughed up from the lungs and expectorated (spit out) through the mouth. A sputum culture is done to find and identify the microorganism causing an infection of the lower respiratory tract such as pneumonia.
The presence of bacteria and white blood cells on the Gram stain and the isolation of a microorganism from culture, other than normal flora contamination, is evidence of a lower respiratory tract...
A sputum culture is done to find and identify the microorganism causing an infection of the lower respiratory. If a microorganism is found, more testing is done to determine which antibiotics will be...
The specimen for culture should be collected before antibiotics are begun. The patient should first rinse his or her mouth with water. If tuberculosis is suspected, collection of sputum should be...