KOH Flashcards

1
Q

Introduction to KOH

A

Yeast are present in low numbers in the vaginal tract of many women (approximately 50%) without exhibiting any symptoms. The potassium hydroxide (KOH) procedure is used to identify yeasts in vaginal specimens.

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2
Q

KOH Procedure

A
  1. Mix the specimen well.
  2. Using a sterile pipette, remove one drop or 10 microliters of
    the specimen from the tube.
  3. Place one drop (10 µL) of the specimen on a clean
    microscope slide with the patient’s identification number.
  4. Without touching the specimen, add one drop (10 µl) of
    10% Potassium hydroxide (KOH) directly to the drop of
    specimen on the slide.
  5. Place a coverslip on the drops on the slide.
  6. Place the slide on a brightfield microscope, focus using low
    power (10X), and scan at least 10 fields using high dry
    power (40X).
  7. Examine for budding yeast or yeast with pseudohyphae.
  8. Record results based on your laboratory’s criteria.
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3
Q

KOH Procedure vs Wet Mount

A

In a wet mount, yeast cells are trapped in the cellular debris and mucus. In a KOH preparation, much of the cellular debris and mucous have been dissolved, allowing these fungal elements to be more readily observed.

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