Clinical Bacteriology I & II Flashcards
What is a biofilm?
A bacterial community
What is a consortium?
Another term for a community of bacteria
What are the two phyla of bacteria which are predominant in the GI tract?
1) firmicutes
2) bacteroidetes
What are some characteristics of bacteria present in biofilms?
1) grow slower
2) more abx resistant
3) might use different metabolic pathways
4) more diverse
What surface on the human body demonstrates biofilms most readily?
teeth!
What are the five steps in the biofilm lifecycle?
1) adhesion
2) colonization
3) accumulation
4) climax community
5) dispersal
What determines whether a biofilm will grow in a certain environment?
whether the surface is shedding or non-shedding
On what clinical surfaces would you find biofilms?
1) orthopedics
2) catheters
3) hospital equipment
What two micriobiological diagnostic tools can physicians use?
1) staining and cultured growth
2) abx sensitivity tests
What is a substratum?
surface for bacterial colonization
What is a pioneer?
the first bacterial colonizers
What are two non-culturable bacteria?
1) treponema
2) mycobacterium leprae
What are the factors that we need to grow bacteria from a clinical specimen?
1) temperature
2) ph
3) gaseous requirements
4) minerals, trace elements, and vitamins
5) nitrogen and carbon sources
6) energy generation
What are five categories of bacteria by gaseous requirements?
1) obligate aerobes
2) microaerophiles
3) capnophiles
4) facultative anaerobes
5) obligate anaerobes
What is unique about obligate aerobes?
They NEED oxygen in order to survive
What is unique about microaerophiles?
They are inhibited by oxygen content, but will not be killed by increased oxygen
What is unique about capnophiles?
They grow best in hypercapnic conditions
What is unique about facultative anaerobes?
they can grow in all oxygen environments
What is unique about obligate anaerobes?
They cannot grow in any oxygen environment and exposure to oxygen kills the cells
What is dysbiosis?
Microbial imbalance in the “normal” microbiota of the body
Which group of bacteria is the most medically important?
facultative anaerobes
For what purpose is liquid media used to select bacteria?
It is used to culture bacteria that are from usually sterile sites and which there will generally be a monoculture.
For what purpose is solid media used to select bacteria?
It is used for all other populations of bacteria and dilution and separation of the bacteria of interest can be more easily obtained
Outline the blood culture technique.
Take a small amount of blood and inject it into multiple “blood bottles” over time intervals. You take it at different times and different places to minimize risk of contamination
What are the four phases of the bacterial growth curve?
1) lag
2) log
3) stationary
4) death
What is the lag phase?
Time where growth is minimal as the bacteria adapt to the host.
What is the log phase?
Time where bacteria grow the fastest. This is where signs and symptoms appear and you get tissue destruction
What is the stationary phase?
The growth of bacteria is offset by the their death facilitated by phagocytosis with antibodies
What is the death phase?
This is where bacteria are cleared from the system
At what point will a spore-forming bacteria sporulate?
At the inflection point between the log phase and the stationary phase
In which phase is a bacteria most susceptible to antibiotics?
The log phase because the bacteria are the most metabolically active
What are the five techniques in which to identify bacteria in the “clin lab”?
1) direct microscopic identification
2) antigen detection/serology
3) cell component detection - chemical/biochemical analysis
4) molecular diagnosis
5) culture
What are the two main microscopic morphologies?
1) cocci
2) rods (bacilli)
What is the Gram’s stain?
The Gram’s stain will test for the presence of a particular cell wall and separate bacteria into gram-positive and gram-negative
What are the steps of the Gram’s stain procedure?
1) dye with crystal violet
2) dye with iodide
3) decolorize with ethanol
4) counterstain with safranin
What are the six bacteria which can cause bacterial meningitis?
1) strep pneumoniae
2) strep agalactiae
3) listeria monocytogenes
4) neisseriea meningitidis
5) escherichia coli
6) haemophilus influenza
What is a primary cause of neonatal sepsis?
strep agalactiae
Which bacteria can cross the placental barrier?
listeria monocytogenes
What does the acid-fast stain stain for?
Mycobacterium
How do you know you have an acceptable sputum culture?
Presence of PMNs
What are the three groups of solid media?
1) general purpose
2) differential or partially selective
3) selective
What is chocolate agar?
Agar plated with RBCs that have become lysed
What is chocolate agar used for?
Fastidious bacteria such as H. influenzae which need particular conditions