Services

In-Patient Services

Exudate section
Urine & Stool section
Blood culture section
Anaerobic section
Mycobacteriology lab
Mycology lab
HIV lab
Molecular biology lab
Regional Influenza lab
Immunology lab
Parasitology lab
Virology lab
Superspeciality block
Hospital Infection Control

Section - Exudate
Section - Exudate
Appropriate specimen	Inappropriate specimen	Precautions while sending samples	Turnaround time
Aspirates - CSF, Pleural aspirate, Joint aspirate, Pericardial aspirate, Peritoneal fluid Pus Swabs - Wound swabs, Ear swabs, Throat swabs Respiratory specimen - Sputum, Tracheal aspirate, Bronchioalveolar lavage, Bronchial washings Tissue bits - Diabetic foot, bed sores, Necrotizing fascitis Peritoneal dialysis fluid Genito-urinary samples - vaginal swabs, endometrial swabs, placental bits, cervical swab Bone chips Urethral swabs for gonorrhoea Ocular specimen- conjunctival swab, corneal scraping, iris tissue, aqueous and vitreous aspirates Swabs for surveillance cultures- nasal, axillary, perineal, web spaces	Tracheal swabs Tracheal tips Central line tips Wound swabs in case of bedsore	Never refrigerate CSF samples collected in cases of suspected pyogenic meningitis As far as possible collect specimens before starting antibiotic therapy Wherever possible please collect pus/ tissue in place of swabs Send tissue bits in sterile vials without saline	48 - 72 hours(in most cases)

Section - Blood culture
Section - Blood culture
Sample	Inappropriate specimens	Precautions while sending samples	Turnaround time
Blood in adult/ paediatric BACTEC bottles Blood collected in adult/ paediatric conventional blood culture bottles Bone marrow aspirate	Catheter tips	ConventionalBlood culture bottles should be inspected for turbidity prior to inoculation of sample, bottles found turbid prior to inoculation should not be used Infective endocarditis-send minimum three (3)specimens from different sites(mention sites) Avoid sending pleural and ascitic fluid in BACTEC bottles CRBSI- 2 specimens (central and peripheral) in BACTEC bottles, not in conventional blood culture and mention on the bottles and in the requisition forms	48 hours (this is a preliminary report) Final report shall be issued if only growth occurs after 48 hours and within a period of 7 days Extended incubation upto 3 weeks for slow growing organisms like Brucella spp is possible after discussion with officer in charge

Section - Urine & Stool
Section - Urine & Stool
Test	Appropriate specimen	Inappropriate specimen	Precautions while sending samples	Turnaround time
Urine culture	Mid stream clean catch urine Urine collected from catheter Percutaneous nephrostomy sample Suprapubic aspirate	Foley\'s Catheter Tip Urine collected from Urobag	Ensure that sample is immediately transported to the laboratory without delay	48 hours
Stool culture (for Salmonella, Shigella, Vibrio cholerae, Yersinia enterocolitica, Campylobacter)	Stool for hangingdrop and culture (suspectedcholera)• Stool for cultureSensitivity• Rectal swabs (Send in Cary Blair Medium)	Faecal swabs Stool not collected in sterile container	Ensure that sample is immediately transported to the laboratory without delay	48 – 72hrs

Section - Anaerobic culture
Section - Urine & Stool
Appropriate specimen	Inappropriate specimen	Precautions while sending samples	Turnaround time
Tissue bits Biopsy specimen (Saline) Aspirates Pus Suprapubic aspirate Stool Endotracheal apirate All specimen should be sent to the laboratory in Robertson’s cooked meat (RCM) medium RCM should be collected from the anaerobic culture section of Department of Microbiology	Swabs Voided urine Superficial material collected from skin surfaces Sputum	Avoid sending material for culture in the needle and syringe.Transfer aspirated material to RCM.	Negative report shall be issued after 6 days

Mycology Section
Mycology Section
Appropriate specimen	Inappropriate specimen	Precautions while sending samples	Turnaround time
CSF for latex agglutination (Cryptococcal antigen)			24 hrs
Aspirates - CSF, Pleural aspirate, Joint aspirate, pericardial aspirate, peritoneal fluid, aqueous humour, vitreous aspirate Respiratory specimen - Sputum, Tracheal aspirate, Bronchioalveolar lavage, Bronchial washings Urine Skin scrapings Hair Clippings Nail clippings Pus Tissue biopsy	Swabs	4 weeks

Section - Parasitology
Section - Parasitology
Test	Appropriate specimen	Inappropriate specimen	Precautions while sending samples	Turnaround time
Stool wet mount for ova and cyst	Stool specimen			2 hrs
Stool examination by concentration for ova and cysts	Stool specimen			4 hrs
Modified acid fast staining for Coccidian parasites	Stool specimen			2 hrs
Stool / aspirates for Amoebic culture	Liver abscess Stool			3 days
Wet mount of CSF/Corneal scrapings for Acanthamoeba	Corneal scrapings CSF			2 hrs
Indirect Haemagglutination test for amoebiasis	Serum			3 days
Indirect Haemagglutination test for Filariasis	Serum			3 days
Indirect Haemagglutination test Hydatid disease	Serum			3 days
Immunochromatographic test(ICT) for malarial parasite	Anticoagulated blood			2 hrs
Peripheral blood smear for malaria parasite	Anticoagulated blood			2 hours
Co-agglutination for Cysticercosis antigen in serum and urine	Serum			2 hrs
Co-agglutination test for Hydatid antigen in serum	Seruum			2 hrs
Western blot for Cysticercosis antibodies in serum	Serum			2 days
Western Blot for Hydatid antibodies in serum	Serum			2 days

Section - Virology section
Section - Virology section
Test	Appropriate specimen	Inappropriate specimen	Precautions while sending samples	Turnaround time
ELISA for detection of HBsAg	Serum specimen			24 hrs
ICT for detection of HBsAg	Serum specimen		To be done after discussion with microbiologist	2 hrs
ELISA for detection of HBeAg	Serum specimen			7 days (test done every Thursday)
ELISA for detection of anti HBe antibodies	Serum specimen			7 days (test done every Thursday)
ELISA for detection of IgM Anti HBc antibodies	Serum specimen			7 days (test done every Wednesday)
ELISA for detection of Anti HCV antibodies	Serum specimen			48 hrs (test done every Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday)
ELISA for detection of IgM Anti HAV antibodies	Serum specimen			7 days (test done every Monday)
ELISA for detection of IgM Anti HEV antibodies	Serum specimen			7 days (test done every Tuesday)
ICT for detection of Dengue NS1 antigen	Serum specimen		Done after discussion with Microbiologist	2 hours
ELISA for detection of Dengue NS1 antigen	Serum specimen			48 hours (test done every Monday, Wednesday & Friday)
ELISA for detection of Dengue IgM antibodies	Serum specimen			48 hours (test done every Monday, Wednesday & Friday)
ELISA for detection of IgM Anti Chikungunya antibodies	Serum sample			7 days (test done every Friday)
Smears for CMV inclusion bodies	Urine			24 hours
Indirect Immunofluorescence Test for Respiratory viruses(RSV, Influenza, Parainfluenza ,Human Metapneumovirus, Adenovirus	Throat swab Nasopharyngeal aspirate		Sample to be sent in Viral Transport medium	24 hours
Indirect Fluorescent Antibody (IFA) Test for Herpes Simplex Virus	Skin scrapings		Sample to be sent in Viral Transport medium	24 hours
Viral culture for Herpes Simplex virus	Skin scrapings		Sample to be sent in Viral Transport medium	Negative report shall be given after 7 days

Section - HIV
Section - HIV
Test	Appropriate specimen	Inappropriate specimen	Precautions while sending samples	Turnaround time
HIV 1 & 2 test (Anti HIV 1 & 2 antibodies by rapid test)	Serum		Test is performed only after complete written consent and HIV pretest counselling	24 hrs
CD4 counts	EDTA blood	Serum	Sample collection will be done on the day of test by Staff of Department of Microbiology	24 hrs (Test is done on every Monday and Friday)
Viral load determination for HIV1	EDTA blood	Serum		7 days (test done every Thursday)

Section – Immunology
Section – Immunology
Test	Appropriate specimen	Inappropriate specimen	Precautions while sending samples
Widal Test for Enteric Fever	Serum		24 hours
Standard agglutination test for Brucellosis	Serum		24 hours
Paul Bunnel Test forInfectious mononucleosis	Serum		24 hours
Weil-Felix test for Rickettsiosis	Serum		24 hours
Cold agglutination Test for Primary atypical pneumonia	Serum		24 hours
VDRL Test for Syphilis	Serum		Test put up once a week (Thursday)
TPHA Test for Syphilis	Serum		Test put up once a week (Thursday)
Test for detection of Rheumatoid factor	Serum		24 hours
Test for detection of Antistreptolysin O	Serum		24 hours
Test for C-Reactive protein	Serum		24 hours
IFA Test for detection of Antinuclear antibodies(ANA)	Serum		Test put up once a week (Friday)
ELISA for detection of ds DNA	Serum		Test put up once a week (Monday)
Leptospira – IgM antibody detection	Serum		Once a week (Based on the number of samples)

Section - Mycobacteriology lab
Section - Mycobacteriology lab
Appropriate specimen	Inappropriate specimen	Precautions while sending samples	Turnaround time
Sputum – Only two sputum samples (early morning & spot ) should be collected Bronchial washings Bronchioalveolar lavage Aspirates Urine Gastric aspirate:10-12 ml of gastric aspirate fluid should be collected in sterile container containing Sodium bicarbonate. (Containers for gastric aspirate can be collected from Mycobacteriology laboratory) Bone marrow Pus Stool Sample for renal tuberculosis: 40-100 ml of early morning urine sample for three (3) consecutive days. Sterile containers for the same may be obtained from Mycobacteriology laboratory	Saliva Specimens not labelled or incorrectly labelled Specimens collected in unsterile containers Specimens sent in syringes Clotted samples	Bone marrow and other specimens containing blood should be sent either in Sodium polyanethol sulfonate or heparin (EDTA should not be used as it is inhibitory to Mycobacteria) 10 - 12 ml of Gastric aspirate should be added to the sterile container containing 100 mg of Sodium bicarbonate within 30 min.	Negative report shall be issued after 8 week

Section - Molecular biology
Section - Mycobacteriology lab
Test	Appropriate specimen	Inappropriate specimen	Precautions while sending samples	Turnaround time
PCR for Mycobacterium tuberculosis	CSF All aspirates Biopsy specimen	SputumUrineBloodBrochoalveolar lavageWound swabs	Ensure that sample is immediately transferred to the laboratory	72 - 96 hours
Multiplex PCR for Entamoeba histolytica/ dispar/ moshkovskii	StoolLiver abscess pus	-	Ensure that sample is immediately transferred to the laboratory	72 - 96 hours
PCR for Herpes simplex virus	CSF	-	Ensure that sample is immediately transferred to the laboratory	72 - 96 hours
Real time PCR for Entamoeba histolytica	Liver abscess pus	-	Ensure that sample is immediately transferred to the laboratory	48 hours

Section - Superspeciality block
Section - Superspeciality block
Appropriate specimen	Inappropriate specimen	Precautions while sending samples	Turnaround time
ELISA for detection of IgM Anti Toxoplasma antibodies	Serum	TORCH panel testing can be done with single sample	7 days (test done every Wednesday)
ELISA for detection of IgM Anti Rubella antibodies	Serum	TORCH panel testing can be done with single sample	7 days (test done every Wednesday)
ELISA for detection of IgM Anti Cytomegalo Virus antibodies	Serum	TORCH panel testing can be done with single sample	7 days (test done every Wednesday)
ELISA for IgM Anti Herpes Simplex Virus antibodies	Serum	TORCH panel testing can be done with single sample	7 days (test done every Wednesday)

Section - Regional Influenza laboratory
Section - Regional Influenza laboratory
Test	Appropriate I specimen	Inappropriate specimen	Special precautions
Real time PCR for Influenza virus	Throat swabs, Nasal swabs		Sample should be sent in viral transport medium	24 - 48 hours

Hospital Infection Control
Hospital Infection Control
Test	Turnaround time
Sterility check of blood bags	10 days
Sterility check of intravenous fluids/ disinfectants	1 week
Sterility check of bone bank samples	1 week
Active surveillance cultures for specified reasons	1 week

Out-Patient Services

All the services listed for the in-patients are also available for the out-patients