BACTE Flashcards
Flocked swab:
Cotton
Gauze
Cotton and gauze
Nylon
Nylon
NYLON STRANDS ARE SPRAYED OR FLOCKED ONTO THE TIP.
The steam autoclave method of sterilization:
Uses 15 lbs of pressure for 15 minutes
Utilizes dry heat for 20 minutes
Produces a maximum temperature of 100ºC
Requires a source of ethylene oxide
Uses 15 lbs of pressure for 15 minutes
The traditional gravity displacement of steam sterilization cycle is 121˚C for 15 minutes at 15 pounds per square inch. Ethylene dioxide is an alternative sterilization method.
The most important diagnostic tool in treating patients with clinical infections in the emergency department:
AFB stain
Culture
Gram stain
IMVic reaction
Gram stain
Additional tests to be included with the IMViC reaction:
Bacitracin and SXT susceptibility
Catalase and coagulase
Motility and H2S
Oxidase and urease
Motility and H2S
These 4 IMViC tests (actually 6 tests if you include motility and H2S) constitute, perhaps, the most critical tests used for identification of bacteria after the gram stain. The test results from these 6 tests should carry more weight than almost any other tests, certainly higher priority than sugar results since they are more stable reactions.
Salmonella Shigella (SS) Agar is a modification of:
BAP
CAP
DCA
EMB
DCA
Salmonella Shigella (SS) Agar is a modification of the Deoxycholate Citrate Agar.
Cary-Blair indicator changes from red to yellow color:
Buffering capacity was overcomed
Change in the pH of the medium
Low temperature
Presence of contaminants
Buffering capacity was overcomed
Some stool specimens may be highly acidic and will overcome the buffering capacity of the medium. This will cause the red indicator to shift to a yellow color. Discard the medium if it has turned yellow and request another specimen.
When cultured in thioglycollate broth, these organisms grow slightly below the surface where oxygen concentrations are lower than atmospheric concentrations
Aerotolerant anaerobes
Facultative anaerobes
Microaerophilic organisms
Obligate aerobes
Microaerophilic organisms
In addition to amount of growth present, the location of growth within thioglycollate broth indicates the type of organism present based on oxygen requirements.
Strict anaerobes will grow at the bottom of the broth tube, whereas aerobes will grow near the surface.
Microaerophilic organisms will grow slightly below the surface where oxygen concentrations are lower than atmospheric concentrations.
In addition, facultative anaerobes and aerotolerant organisms will grow throughout the medium, as they are unaffected by the variation in oxygen content.
Which one of the following specimen requests is acceptable?
Feces submitted for anaerobic culture
Foley catheter tip submitted for aerobic culture
Rectal swab submitted for direct smear for gonococci
Urine for culture of acid-fast bacilli
Urine for culture of acid-fast bacilli
Urine is an appropriate specimen for the detection of renal tuberculosis. Since feces contain anaerobic organisms as part of the indigenous flora, it is an unacceptable specimen for anaerobic culture. Foley catheter tips are also not acceptable for culture because they are contaminated with colonizing organisms. Gram stain smears of rectal swabs for N. gonorrhoeae should also not be performed, since the presence of organisms with similar morphologies may lead to over interpretation of smears.
Which of the following is the most appropriate method for collecting a urine specimen from a patient with an indwelling catheter?
Remove the catheter, cut the tip, and submit it for culture
Disconnect the catheter from the bag, and collect urine from the terminal end of the catheter
Collect urine directly from the bag
Aspirate urine aseptically from the catheter tubing
Aspirate urine aseptically from the catheter tubing
Indwelling catheters are closed systems, and should not be disconnected for specimen collection. Urine samples should not be collected from catheter bags, and Foley catheter tips are unsuitable for culture because they are contaminated with colonizing organisms. Urine from indwelling catheters should be collected by aseptically puncturing the tubing (collection port).
A liquid fecal specimen from a three-month-old infant is submitted for microbiological examination. In addition to culture on routine media for Salmonella and Shigella, this specimen should be routinely:
Examined for the presence of Entamoeba hartmanni
Examined for the presence of Camylobacter sp
Screened for the detection of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli
Placed in thioglycollate broth to detect Clostridium
botulinum
Examined for the presence of Camylobacter sp
Campylobacter continues to be the most common enteric pathogen isolated from patients with diarrhea. Routinely fecal specimens should be cultured for Salmonella, Shigella and Campylobacter.
Composition of 0.5 McFarland standard:
1% sulfuric acid and 2.175% barium chloride
1% sulfuric acid and 1.175% barium chloride
1% hydrochloric acid and 2.175% barium chloride
1% hydrochloric acid and 1.175% barium chloride
1% sulfuric acid and 1.175% barium chloride
0.5 McFarland (barium sulfate) standard:
1% sulfuric acid
1.175% barium chloride
Standard agar depth of the Mueller-Hinton agar:
1 to 2 mm
3 to 5 mm
6 to 8 mm
7 to 9 mm
3 to 5 mm
MUELLER-HINTON AGAR
STANDARD AGAR DEPTH
3 to 5 mm. (average of 4 mm.)
Susceptibility testing performed on quality control organisms using a new media lot number yielded zone sizes that were too large for all antibiotics tested. The testing was repeated using media from a previously used lot number, and all zone sizes were acceptable. Which of the following best explains the unacceptable zone sizes?
The antibiotic disks were not stored with the proper desiccant
The depth of the media was too thick
The depth of the media was too thin
The antibiotic disks were not properly applied to the media
The depth of the media was too thin
Quality control results for disk diffusion susceptibility tests yield the following results: aminoglycoside zones too small and penicillin zones too large. This is most likely due to the:
Inoculum being too heavy
Inoculum being too light
pH of Mueller-Hinton agar being too low
Calcium and magnesium concentration in the agar being too high
pH of Mueller-Hinton agar being too low
Mueller-Hinton Agar used for disk diffusion is standardized at pH 7.2 to 7.4. Penicillin function better in an acidic environment, so zone sizes would become larger if the media pH is too low. Aminoglycosides, on the other hand are less effective in an acidic environment, so zone sizes would become smaller if the pH of the media is too low.
In disk diffusion susceptibility testing, as an antimicrobial agent diffuses away from the disk, the concentration of antibiotic is:
Increased
Decreased
Unchanged
Inoculum dependent
Decreased
As it diffuses into the media, the concentration of antibiotic gets lower the further it diffuses from the disk.
After satisfactory performance of daily disk diffusion susceptibility quality control is documented, the frequency of quality control can be reduced to:
Twice a week
Every week
Every other week
Every month
Every week
Daily disk diffusion quality control can be converted to weekly testing when 30 days of consecutive testing demonstrated no more than 3 antibiotic/ organism combinations outside the acceptable limits.
An outbreak of Staphylococcus aureus has occurred in a hospital nursery. In order to establish the epidemiological source of the outbreak, the most commonly used typing method is:
Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis
Serological typing
Coagulase testing
Catalase testing
Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis
The most commonly used method to determine the relatedness of 2 or more bacterial strains is pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.
The organism most commonly associated with neonatal purulent meningitis is:
N. meningitidis
S. pneumoniae
S. agalactiae
S. pyogenes
S. agalactiae
All of the organisms listed are potential causes of meningitis. Group B streptococcus is also associated with neonatal meningitis and meningitis of the elderly.
One of the enterotoxins produced by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli in traveler’s diarrhea is similar to a toxin produced by:
Clostridium perfringens
Clostridium difficile
Vibrio cholerae
Yersinia enterocolitica
Vibrio cholerae
The toxin produced by enterotoxigenic E. coli is similar in action and amino acid sequence to cholera toxin.
Which of the following sets of tests best differentiates Salmonella and Citrobacter species?
KCN, malonate, beta-galactosidase, lysine decarboxylase
Dulcitol, citrate, indole, H2S production
Lactose, adonitol, KCN, motility
Lysine decarboxylase, lactose, sucrose, malonate, indole
KCN, malonate, beta-galactosidase, lysine decarboxylase
Salmonella are positive for lysine decarboxylase and most are negative for KCN, malonate and ONPG. Citrobacter are negative for lysine decarboxylase and positive for growth in KCN.
The Oriental rat flea, Xenopsylla cheopis, can be involved in transmitting which of the following microorganisms?
Bartonella quintana
Plasmodium spp.
Rickettsia prowazeki
Yersinia pestis
Yersinia pestis
Oxidase positive, urease negative:
Bordetella bronchiseptica
Bordetella pertussis
Bordetella parapertussis
All of these
Bordetella pertussis
A culture from an infected dog bite on a small boy’s finger yielded a small, gram-negative coccobacillus that was smooth, raised and beta-hemolytic on blood agar. The isolate grew on MacConkey agar, forming colorless colonies. The organism was motile, catalase positive, oxidase positive, reduced nitrate, and was urease positive within 4 hours. No carbohydrates were fermented. The most likely identification of this isolate is:
Brucella canis
Yersinia pestis
Francisella tularensis
Bordetella bronchiseptica
Bordetella bronchiseptica
Bordetella bronchiseptica are normal flora in the respiratory tract of various animals. A key reaction is that it is rapidly urea positive (within 4 hours). Brucella is also urea positive, but does not grow in MacConkey agar.
While swimming in a lake near his home, a young boy cut his foot, and an infection developed. The culture grew a nonfastidious gram-negative, oxidase positive, beta hemolytic, motile bacilli that produced deoxyribonuclease. The most likely identification is:
Enterobacter cloacae
Serratia marcescens
Aeromonas hydrophila
Escherichia coli
Aeromonas hydrophila
Enterobacteriaceae, such as E. coli, Serratia and Enterobacter are oxidase negative. The only selection that is oxidase positive is Aeromonas. It is associated with wounds contaminated with water.
A community hospital microbiology laboratory is processing significant numbers of stool cultures because of an outbreak of diarrhea following heavy rains and flooding in the country. A media that should be incorporated in the plating protocol is:
Colistin nalidixic acid for Listeria
MacConkey agar with sorbitol for Campylobacter
Mannitol salt agar for Enterococcus species
Thiosulfate citrate bile salts sucrose for Vibrio species
Thiosulfate citrate bile salts sucrose for Vibrio species
Thiosulfate citrate bile salts agar is a selective media for Vibrio and it also differentiates sucrose fermenting species such as V. cholerae and V. alginolyticus.
Stool specimens suspected of containing Vibrio spp. should be collected and transported only in:
Amies medium
Cary-Blair medium
Stuart’s medium
Transgrow medium
Cary-Blair medium
Stool specimens suspected of containing Vibrio spp. should be collected and transported only in Cary-Blair medium.
Catalase positive, lactose negative, xylose positive:
Haemophilus aegypticus
Haemophilus ducreyi
Haemophilus parainfluenzae
Haemophilus influenzae
Haemophilus influenzae
The best procedure to differentiate Listeria monocytogenes from Corynebacterium species is:
Catalase
Motility at 25C
Motility at 35C
Gram stain
Motility at 25C
Corynebacterium and Listeria are catalase positive and gram positive bacilli. Listeria demonstrate “tumbling motility” that is best demonstrated following growth at 25˚C. A few species of Corynebacterium are motile when grown at 35˚C.
A patient has a suspected diagnosis of subacute bacterial endocarditis. His blood cultures grow non-spore-forming pleomorphic gram-positive bacilli only in the anaerobic bottle. What test(s) will give a presumptive identification of this microorganism?
Beta-hemolysis and oxidase
Catalase and spot indole
Esculin hydrolysis
Gelatin hydrolysis
Catalase and spot indole
Propionibacterium acnes is part of the normal flora on the skin and is a common blood culture contaminant. The gram stain given is typical for P. acnes, and it is catalase and indole positive.
Colonies appear shiny and mucoid because of the presence of a polysaccharide capsule:
Candida albicans
Cryptococcus neoformans
Malassezia furfur
Histoplasma capsulatum
Cryptococcus neoformans
LATEX AGGLUTINATION for cryptococcal _____ is now recommended test for Cryptococcus neoformans.
Polysaccharide capsule
Antigen
Antibody
Nucleic acids
Antigen
A mold grown at 25C exhibited delicate septate hyaline hyphae and many conidiophores extending at right angles from the hyphae. Oval, 2-5 um conidia were formed at the end of the conidiophores giving a flowerlike appearance. In some areas “sleeves” of spores could be found along the hyphae as well. A 37C culture of this organism produced small, cigar-shaped yeast cells. This organism is most likely:
Histoplasma capsulatum
Sporothrix schenckii
Blastomyces dermatitidis
Coccidioides immitis
Sporothrix schenckii
Virulence factors include aflatoxin, serine protease and aspartic acid proteinase:
Aspergillus spp.
Blastomyces dermatitidis
Cryptococcus neoformans
Histoplasma capsulatum
Aspergillus spp.
Most often, ______ are “dead-end” hosts.
Amphibians
Birds
Humans
Rodents
Humans
Most often, humans are “dead-end” hosts, meaning that there is no subsequent human-to-human transmission.
Delay in the processing of fluid specimens requires dilution in a viral transport medium before storage:
1: 2 to 1:5
1:10 to 1:20
1:50 to 1:100
1:100 to 1:200
1: 2 to 1:5
The most sensitive method for the detection of β-lactamase in bacteria is by the use of:
Chromogenic cephalosporin
Penicillin
Oxidase
Chloramphenicol acetyltransferase
Chromogenic cephalosporin
According to the Kirby–Bauer standard antimicrobial susceptibility testing method, what should be done when interpreting the zone size of a motile, swarming organism such as Proteus species?
The swarming area should be ignored
The results of the disk diffusion method are invalid
The swarming area should be measured as the growth boundary
The isolate should be retested after diluting to a 0.05 McFarland standard
The swarming area should be ignored
Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of anaerobes is done by which of the following methods?
Broth disk elution
Disk agar diffusion
Microtube broth dilution
β-Lactamase testing
Microtube broth dilution
The anaerobes are not suited for the broth disk elution or disk agar diffusion tests because of their slow rate of growth. Kirby–Bauer method reference charts are not designed to be used as a reference of susceptibility for anaerobes.
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) should be cultured immediately, but if delayed the specimen should be:
Refrigerated at 4°C to 6°C
Frozen at –20°C
Stored at room temperature for no longer than 24 hours
Incubated at 37°C and cultured as soon as possible
Incubated at 37°C and cultured as soon as possible
Select the method of choice for recovery of anaerobic bacteria from a deep abscess.
Cotton fiber swab of the abscess area
Skin snip of the surface tissue
Needle aspirate after surface decontamination
Swab of the scalpel used for débridement
Needle aspirate after surface decontamination
Anaerobic bacteria are routinely isolated from all of the following types of infections except:
Lung abscesses
Brain abscesses
Dental infections
Urinary tract infections
Urinary tract infections
The incidence of anaerobic bacteria recovered from the urine is approximately 1% of isolates. The other three types of infection are associated with a 60%–93% incidence of anaerobic recovery. Urine is not cultured routinely under anaerobic conditions unless obtained surgically (e.g., suprapubic aspiration).
Prereduced and vitamin K1-supplemented blood agar plates are recommended isolation media for:
Mycobacterium marinum and Mycobacterium avium intracellulare
Bacteroides, Peptostreptococcus, and Clostridium spp.
Proteus spp.
Enterococcus spp.
Bacteroides, Peptostreptococcus, and Clostridium spp.
Anaerobic culture media can be prereduced before sterilization by boiling, saturation with oxygen-free gas, and addition of cysteine or other thiol compounds. The final oxidation reduction potential (Eh) of the medium should be approximately –150 mV to minimize the effects of exposure of organisms to oxygen during inoculation.
Which of the following is the medium of choice for the selective recovery of gram-negative anaerobes?
Kanamycin–vancomycin (KV) agar
Phenylethyl alcohol (PEA) agar
Cycloserine–cefoxitin–fructose agar (CCFA)
THIO broth
Kanamycin–vancomycin (KV) agar
Methods other than packaged microsystems used to identify anaerobes include:
Antimicrobial susceptibility testing
Gas–liquid chromatography (GLC)
Special staining
Enzyme immunoassay
Gas–liquid chromatography (GLC)
Anaerobic bacteria can be identified by analysis of metabolic products using gas–liquid chromatography. Results are evaluated along with Gram staining characteristics, spore formation, and cellular morphology in order to make the identification.
Semisolid transport media such as Amies, Stuart, or Cary–Blair are suitable for the transport of swabs for culture of most pathogens except:
Neisseria gonorrhoeae
Enterobacteriaceae
Campylobacter fetus
Streptococcus pneumoniae
Neisseria gonorrhoeae
Colistin–nalidixic acid agar (CNA) is used primarily for the recovery of:
Neisseria species
Enterobacteriaceae
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Staphylococcus aureus
Staphylococcus aureus
Toxic shock syndrome is attributed to infection with:
Staphylococcus epidermidis
Staphylococcus hominis
Staphylococcus aureus
Staphylococcus saprophyticus
Staphylococcus aureus
Which Staphylococcus species, in addition to S. aureus, also produces coagulase?
S. intermedius
S. saprophyticus
S. hominis
All of these options
S. intermedius