Microbiology Lab

On the first day at microbiology lab, the science officer there gave a briefing about the lab’s equipment, the function of the lab itself and the work procedure in the lab. Guidelines given by laboratory technicians about the method of receiving and sending specimens must be followed correctly if doctors would like to provide therapy service, efficient diagnosis to the patients.

Insignificant positive or negative might occur if the specimen is sent in a wrong container, the specimens are sent late and so on. Hence, this might give problem to doctors and they might give wrong diagnosis to patients. Usage of wrong antibiotic may also increase the cost of the hospital and increase of antibiotic resistant in patients. So the doctors and the laboratory staffs must cooperate to give correct result.

The tests that been conducted are cultures and sensitivity tests of blood, body fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, ear swab, eye, corneal, vitreous tap swab, high vaginal swab, endocervical swab, nasal swab, pus swab and aspirate, stool, sputum, tracheal fluid and also urine. There is also CSF for Bacterial Antigen test, microscopic examination and also hospital infection control test. The microscopic examination includes the usage of gram stain, Albert Stain and Ziehl Neelsen stain.Meanwhile the hospital control test includes the settle plates, environmental swab and also sterility tests for autoclave, pharmaceutical.

In general, microbiology laboratory can be divided into 4 sections which are high vaginal swab/antibiotic sensitivity section, blood and urine section, pus section and media room. I observed and went to each of the sections each day, the tasks that was assigned and learnt are processing and culture clinical specimens, blood agar culture using BACTEC 9240, high vaginal swab, urine culture, pus culture, TSI test, antibiotic sensitivity test and nasal and throat swab.

Picture of BECTEC 9240 machine