Medical Necessity Documentation:
Client Notes:
Acid Fast Smear is included in an Acid Fast Culture automatically and should rarely be ordered alone.
Patient Preparation:
Expectorated sputum: Instruct patient to gargle with water and cough deeply. Three separate early morning collections on at least three consecutive days are recommended.
Specimen Requirements:
Preferred Specimen(s):
10 mL of body fluids, lower respiratory tract specimens, or gastric lavage in sterile container
or
2 mL CSF
or
40.0 mL urine in sterile, leak-proof container
or
2 grams fresh (unfixed) tissue in sterile container
or
1 mL exudate, aspirate, lesion material, ocular specimen collected in a sterile, leak-proof container
Minimum Volume:
2 mL of body fluids, lower respiratory tract specimens, or gastric lavage
or
1 mL CSF
or
1 gram fresh tissue (unfixed)
or
20 mL urine
or
1 mL or 1 swab wound, exudates, aspirates, lesion material, or ocular specimens
Collection Instructions:
Tissue and biopsy material: Steile, leak-proof container with small amount of saline, no fixative or preservative.
Gastric lavage fluid: Sterile, leak-proof container. Must be neutralized with sodium bicarbonate within 4 hours of collection.
Sputums may be collected in sputum collection device per instructions. (First AM, deep cough specimens are best).
Urine should be first/early AM collection
Transport & Storage: Temperature/Stability:
Transport refrigerated
Specimen Stability:
Ambient: unacceptable
Refrigerated: 5 days
Frozen: unacceptable
Rejection Criteria:
24 hour pooled urine or sputum, dry swabs, specimens received in alcohol, formalin, EDTA, lithium heparin or conventional blood culture bottles, throat/oral/sputum swabs from non-cystic fibrosis patients, urine specimens in preservative tubes
Reference Range:
See Laboratory Report
Critical Ranges:
Test Comments:
Methodology:
Microscopic Exam with Fluorochrome Stain
Clinical Significance:
There are more than 70 species of mycobacteria of which the primary pathogen is M. tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is a chronic, granulomatous disease casued by M. tuberculosis. Identification, and, if appropriate, antibiotic sensitivity, is required to initiate necessary therapy.
Documentation:
Custom Panel:
No
PRODUCTION SCHEDULE
Turn Around Time:
48 hours; 4 days (if received on Friday afternoon)
Days Performed:
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Sites Performed:
Quest - Chantilly
PHL Test Code:
AFBST
EPIC Test Code:
LAB2495
Send Out Test Code:
268
Alternate Test Names:
Acid Fast Stain; AFB Smear; Smear for AFB
Included Tests:
Acid-Fast Bacilli Stain
CPT Coding:
87206, 87015