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Test Code ANAC Anaerobe/Aerobe Culture & Stain

Important Note

Swabs are strongly discouraged for tissue and fluid specimens.

Anaerobic transport tubes are available from the Microbiology lab, call (773) 702-6133

Infectious

Specimen and Container/Tube

Specimen Types: 

  • Abscess - material or aspirate obtained by a needle and syringe
  • Tissue/biopsy - surgically obtained
  • Soft tissue - includes abscess, tissue and deep aspirate of open wound margin or surface ulcer
  • Bone marrow
  • Bronchoscopic specimens, such as:
    • Percutaneous lung puncture
    • Pleural fluid or empyema fluid
    • Thoracentesis fluid
    • Transbronchial biopsy
  • Fluids, such as:
    • Peritoneal fluid
    • Synovial fluid
    • Bile
    • Pericardial fluid
    • Hepatic fluid
  • CSF
  • Suprapubic urine aspirate
  • Female genital tract specimens, such as:
    • Culdoscopy specimens
    • Endometrial aspirate
    • IUD (for Actinomyces)
  • Deep aspirate of open wound or surface ulcer

Preferred Specimen: Anaerobic transport swab, sterile, sealable, screw-cap container

Other Acceptable specimens: Rubber-capped syringe

Volume

Preferred Volume: 

Joint and pericardial fluid, CSF: 1 mL

All other fluids: 10 mL

Transtracheal aspirate: 1 mL

Tissue/biopsy: 1 cm or 3-4 mm dermal punch

Specimen Stability

Storage Temperature

Stability

Room temperature

(20 - 25°C)

24 hours

Refrigerated

(2 - 10°C)

 not acceptable

Frozen

(-20°C)

not acceptable

Collection Instructions

Specimen Collection: 

 

Abscess: Clean overlying skin surface with 70% alcohol. Aspirate with syringe or curette the lining of the lesion.

 

Tissue/biopsy: Obtained after surgical debridement is preferred. Do not push tissue into agar media of tube.

 

Bone marrow: Sterile percutaneous aspiration.

 

Bronchoscopic specimens

 

Body fluid & bile: Decontamination of overlying skin and aspiration of fluid.

 

Transtracheal aspirate: Skin is cleansed, anesthetized, and decontaminated.

 

CSF: Skin decontamination with Chloraprep.

 

Suprapubic urine asipirate: Collected by physician or nurse.

 

Culdoscopy specimens: Surgical procedure. Aspiration through posterior vaginal vault.

 

Endometrial aspirate: Wipe cervix clean of vaginal secretions and mucus.

 

IUD (for Actinomyces): Surgical removal of IUD plus secretions.

 


Specimen Transport: Immediate

Specimen Handling and Transport Instructions

UCMC Onsite Instructions: Collect specimen per standard collection procedure and send to laboratory immediately. 

 

UCMC Offsite and UC MedLab Outreach Instructions: Collect specimen per standard collection procedure and send to laboratory immediately.

Rejection Criteria

  • Common specimen rejected situations include: incorrect specimen type, insufficient volume, incorrect collection container, missing or incomplete specimen identifiers, incorrect specimen transport, or specimens outside stability limits.
  • Frozen specimens will be rejected.
  • Swabs not in anaerobic transport media will be rejected. 
  • Swabs received in oxidized (blue) anaerobe transport medium will be rejected.
  • Specimens in transports with preservatives, formalin or antimicrobials will be rejected.
  • The following specimen types are NOT acceptable for this test:
    • Superficial material collected with swabs from skin surface or edge of wound will be rejected. This includes: ear, eye, gingiva, nose or nasopharynx, throat or oral, nasal washings. 
    • Catheter tips
    • Hardware
    • Nasopharyngeal
    • Sputum
    • Tracheal and endotracheal aspirates
    • Bronchoalveolar Lavage (BAL)
    • Bronchoscopic secretions
    • Decubitus ulcers
    • Stool
    • Rectal swabs
    • Gastric contents
    • Bowel Contents
    • Clean catch, voided or catharized urine
    • Vagina
    • Urethra
    • Vulva
    • Labia

Reference Values

 

Test

Age

Sex

Reference Range

Culture

All

All

No Growth/Normal flora
Stain All All No organisms seen

Turnaround Time

Turnaround times are relative to the time the specimen is received in the test laboratory. 

STAT Turnaround Time: Only available for gram stains - 1 hour

Routine Turnaround Time: 4 days

Testing Schedule: Monday - Sunday

Clinical Indications

  • Aid in the diagnosis of anaerobic and/or aerobic bacterial infections.

CPT Codes

87070, 87075, 87205

LOINC Codes

30087070, 30687075, 30687205

Methodology

Conventional aerobic and anaerobic culture on media

Synonyms/Keyword Search

AEROBE/ANAEROBE, ANAC, BACTERIAL CULTURE, ANAEROBE, Anaerobic Culture

Last Review Date

01/30/2026