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Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). Methods for Dilution Antimicrobial Susceptibility Tests for Bacteria That Grow Aerobically; Approved Standard-Eighth Edition. CLSI document M07-A8. Wayne, PA: 2009. Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). Performance Standards for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing; Twenty-First Informational Supplement. CLSI document M100-S21. Wayne, PA: 2011. It is important to detect ESBL-producing stains of Klebsiella pneumoniae, K. oxytoca, Escherichia. coli, and Proteus mirabilis as treatment failure may occur if the wrong cephalosporin is selected. These enzymes have the ability to hydrolyze third-generation cephalosporins and aztreonam, but are inhibited by clavulanic acid. ESBL-producing organisms can also exhibit co-resistance to many other classes of antibiotics. In January 2010, the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) published revised cephalosporin (cefazolin, cefotaxime, ceftazidime, ceftizoxime, and ceftriaxone) and aztreonam interpretive criteria for Enterobacteriaceae. The criteria for cefepime and cefuroxime (parenteral) did not change. Laboratories using these new criteria detailed in the M100-S21 document, table 2A, published in January 2011, no longer need to routinely test for extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) prior to reporting results. IF using the new criteria, there is no longer a need to change the interpretive criteria for cephalosporin's, aztreonam or penicillin's from susceptible to resistant before reporting. IF reporting moxalactam, cefonicid, cefamandole, or cefoperazone for E. coli, Klebsiella, or Proteus species, ESBL testing should still be performed as outlined in CLSI document M100-S21, supplemental table 2A-S1. If these isolates test ESBL positive, they should be reported as resistant. These drugs have limited availability in many countries, so the interpretive criteria were not evaluated by CLSI. CLSI notes that ESBL testing could still be useful for epidemiology and infection control purposes. ESBL testing should also continue to be performed until the new CLSI interpretive criteria is implemented.

A busy laboratory is located in a 350 bed urban hospital that provides laboratory testing for the hospital and for the hospital's outreach testing program. A medical technologist in the microbiology department receives a call from a friend who works in a laboratory in a physician office. The physician is not a regular client of the laboratory currently but uses another laboratory for most of their work. The microbiologist knows that the sales department would like to get this account. The friend explains to her that she is doing a quality control check on her in-office microbiology testing and her regular laboratory will do it but is going to charge her for it. She asks the microbiologist if she will do it for free since it is quality control, not Medicare, and is not going to be billed to anyone.She tells the microbiologist that she would like to use the hospital lab for everything but her doctor insists on using the competitor. She indicates that the favor might help get the doctor to try the hospital laboratory for other tests. How should the microbiologist respond to this request?Correct Answer: Explain to her friend that if the hospital does the tests for no charge on the promise of other referrals, both the physician office and the hospital could be liable for violations of the antikickback statute.Discussion: The antikickback statute is implicated in this scenario because the free testing is solicited on the condition that other referrals may occur as a result of providing the favor. In fact, the solicitation itself is a violation of the law. The fact that Medicare patients are not specifically mentioned in the scenario is not sufficient to remove the risk. The technologist should also report the incident to the Compliance Officer and seek advise about what documentation, if any, should be kept concerning the incident.

Busy hospital laboratory in a 350 bed urban hospital that provides laboratory testing for the hospital and for the hospital's outreach testing laboratory. A medical technologist in the microbiology department receives a call from a friend who works in a laboratory in a physician office. The physician is not a regular client of the laboratory currently but uses another laboratory for most of their work. The microbiologist knows that the sales department would like to get this account. The friend explains to her that she is doing a quality control check on her in-office microbiology testing and her regular laboratory will do it but is going to charge her for it. She asks the microbiologist if she will do it for free since it is quality control, not Medicare and is not going to be billed to anyone.She tells the microbiologist that she would like to use the hospital lab for everything but her doctor insists on using the competitor. She indicates that the favor might help get the doctor to try the hospital laboratory for other tests. The microbiologist should:Correct Answer: Explain to her friend that if the hospital does the tests for no charge on the promise of other referrals, both the physician office and the hospital could be liable for violations of the antikickback statute.Discussion: The antikickback statute is implicated in this scenario because the free testing is solicited on the condition that other referrals may occur as a result of providing the favor. In fact, the solicitation itself is a violation of the law. The fact that Medicare patients are not specifically mentioned in the scenario is not sufficient to remove the risk. The technologist should also report the incident to the Compliance Officer and seek advise about what documentation, if any, should be kept concerning the incident.

Hazardous material classifications are consistent across all agencies who regulate commercial shipping and are based on criteria developed by the United Nations (UN) Committee of Experts working with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), medical professionals, microbiologists, transportation professionals, and packaging technical experts. These requirements can be found in the 13th and 14th editions of the United Nations Recommendations for the Transport of Dangerous Goods, the 2005 - 2006 edition of the International Civil Aviation Organization Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air (ICAO Technical Instructions), and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Dangerous Goods Code. The classification system for Division 6.2 Infectious Substances includes two catergories, known simply as Category A and Category B.

American Society for Microbiology. Sentinel Level Clinical Microbiology Laboratory Guidelines. Available at: http://www.asm.org/index.php/guidelines/sentinel-guidelines. Accessed on April 12, 2013.Association of Public Health Laboratories web site. LRN Sentinel Laboratories Clinical. Available at: http://www.aphl.org/aphlprograms/preparedness-and-response/Documents/LRN_Sentinel_Clinical.pdf. Accessed on October 29, 2012.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Laboratory Information for Bioterrorism Emergencies. Available at: http://emergency.cdc.gov/bioterrorism/lab.asp. Accessed August 16, 2011.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Laboratory Network for Biological Terrorism. Available at: http://emergency.cdc.gov/lrn/biological.asp. Accessed August 16, 2011.Klietmann WF, Ruoff KL. Clincal Microbiology Reviews: Bioterrorism: Implications for the Clinical Microbiologist. American Society for Microbiology; April 2001 p. 364-381, Vol. 14, No. 2. Available at: http://cmr.asm.org/cgi/content/full/14/2/364. Accessed August 16, 2011.Snyder JW. Role of the Hospital-Based Microbiology Laboratory in Preparation for and Response to a Bioterrorism Event. J Clin Microbiol; 2003 41(1): 1–4. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC149646/. Accessed August 16, 2011. Winn WC Jr, Allen SD, Janda WM, Koneman EW, Procop G, Schreckenberger PC, Woods G. Koneman's Color Atlas and Textbook of Diagnostic Microbiology. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins; 2006.

The culture smear is used to determine the staining characteristic, size, shape and cellular arrangement of the unknown organism. This data helps the microbiologist to decide on additional culture and identification methods. By correlating the Gram stain reaction, size, shape, and cellular arrangement of the organism with colony morphology and growth requirements, the microbiologist may be able to tentatively identify the organism. This information may help the physician to optimize treatment until definitive culture and antibiotic susceptibility results become available. Gram stain reaction and bacterial shape must be included in the report.The cellular arrangement is usually not included in the report since it may vary depending on the culture medium (liquid or solid) used to isolate the organism. The following 12 screens contain additional ungraded practice questions pertinent to the material covered.