ACID FAST STAINING Flashcards
A. Sputum Smear Preparation
- Prepare a clean glass slide. Label specimen number at the frosted end of the slide.
- Fish out ________of sputum.
- Spread one loopful of the sputum evenly on a clean labeled glass slide, approximately________ in size.
- Allow the smear to dry completely at________. Do not placed it _________.
- After drying completely, fix it by passing through the ______about_____each. Flame at the back of smeared surface of the slide. Never scorch the smear. Blot dry with a paper towel or tissue.
one loopful of yellowish particle
2 cm x 3 cm
room temperature; under the heat of the sun or over a flame
flame 2 to 3 times
2-3 seconds
The cell wall of some organisms, such as those belonging to the Genus_____, contains a substantial amount of lipids.
Mycobacterium
_______ are very difficult to stain because it resists penetration of the primary dye into the cellular cytoplasm.
Because of this factor, application of_________ or _______ is needed.
Once stained, these organisms retain the stain so that even acid alcohol could not remove it. Hence, they are referred to as_______.
Lipids
heat or prolonging the exposure of the smear with the primary dye
acid fast
Steps in Acid-Fast staining:
A._________ is applied to a fixed smear, and the slide is gently_____ for several minutes.
B. Slide is cooled and washed with water.
C. Smear is next treated with_______, a decolorizer, which removes the red stain from________
D. The smear is then stained with a________. _______appear blue after application of the counterstain.
Red dye carbolfuchsin; heated
acid alcohol; bacteria that are not acid-fast.
methylene blue counterstain; Nonacid-fast cells
• The acid-fast microorganisms retain the red color because the______ is more soluble in the_______ than in the______
carbolfuchsin
cell wall lipids
acid-alcohol
• In non-acid fast bacteria, whose _______lacks the_____ components, the carbolfuchsin is rapidly removed during______, leaving the cells colorless.
cell wall; lipid
decolorization
MAIN CAUSES OF FALSE READINGS IN AFS SMEARS:
If smear is too big or too small
False negative
MAIN CAUSES OF FALSE READINGS IN AFS SMEARS:
If smear is uneven or sloughed off
False negative
MAIN CAUSES OF FALSE READINGS IN AFS SMEARS:
Is smear is too thick or too thin
False negative
MAIN CAUSES OF FALSE READINGS IN AFS SMEARS:
If smear has dirt or an artifact
Dirt: false +/-
Artifact: false +
MAIN CAUSES OF FALSE READINGS IN AFS SMEARS:
If sputum has saliva
False negative
MAIN CAUSES OF FALSE READINGS IN AFS SMEARS:
Staining:
Overheating
Insufficient heating
Under decolorization
Over decolorization
Overheating - False +/-
Insufficient heating - False -
Under decolorization - False +/-
Over decolorization - False -
The______ end of the applicator stick can be used instead of wire loop to take sputum to smear and the_____ end may be used to make the smear.
The used sticks are burnt after day’s work.
rough
pointed
Acid Fast Staining procedure
Carbolfuchsin -> Heat till steam comes off -> do not boil and dry -> let sit for 10mins
Tilt slide -> wash gently -> tilt slide
Cover whole slide with Acid alcohol 25-30secs
Wash slide gently -> tilt slide
Cover whole slide with Methylene blue 10secs
Tilt slide -> wash gently -> tilt slide -> dry rack do not place under the sun
OIO -> immersion oil -> Acid fast bacilli appear red or pink color and the background is stained in blue color
Evaluation of Acid-Fast Stained Smear
1. Read the slide________. Do not read the smear in a______ manner because this will increase the straining of the eyes.
- Proceed from ________end to the other end. Come_____ a little and then proceed either from______ (or three vertical lines of the smear).
- One horizontal line of a______ width of the smear corresponds to approximately _______of magnification x 1000 (100 x objective and 10 x eyepiece).
systematically; zigzag
left or right ; down; left to right
3 cm; 150 visual fields (VF)
Evaluation of Acid-Fast Stained Smear
NOTE:
One may read along one imaginary horizontal line from one end to the other of the smear if the reading is
positive (+n, 1+, 2+, 3+)
Evaluation of Acid-Fast Stained Smear
- Read two horizontal lines which correspond to _______to report the slide as______.
- Read at least______. When AFB is seen, count the number of bacilli present. But stop reading the smear when the average number of AFB in each field is________ in less than one horizontal line and the smear is reported as_____. When AFB is not observed on one horizontal line,_______
- Report as _______and not such a comment as M. tuberculosis because the identification of Mycobacterial species is not possible by microscopic examination, but it is only possible after_______ of the bacilli.
300 visual fields ; negative
one horizontal line; 1or more; (+++), continue to read second horizontal line
Acid-Fast Bacilli; cultivation
NATIONAL STANDARD REPORTING SCALE
No AFB seen in 300 visual fields
0
NATIONAL STANDARD REPORTING SCALE
1-9 AFB / 100 visual fields
+n
NATIONAL STANDARD REPORTING SCALE
10-99 AFB / 100 visual fields
1+
NATIONAL STANDARD REPORTING SCALE
1-10 AFB / OIO in at least 50 visual fields
2+
NATIONAL STANDARD REPORTING SCALE
More than 10 AFB / OIO in at least 20 visual fields
3+
is considered a reasonably sensitive and rapid procedure for the presumptive identification of Mycobacterium spp. in clinical specimens.
Microscopy