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Test Code EYEC Eye Culture & Stain

Infectious

Specimen and Container/Tube

Specimen Type: Conjunctiva, cornea, eyelids, vitreous fluid, contact lenses/cases/solutions

Preferred Specimen: Transport swab, or sterile, sealable, screw-cap container

Other Acceptable specimens: Rubber-capped syringe, or anaerobe transport

Specimen Stability

Storage Temperature

Stability

Room temperature

(20 - 25°C)

Swab: 48 hours

Fluid: 24 hours

Refrigerated

(2 - 10°C)

 not acceptable

Frozen

(-20°C)

not acceptable

Collection Instructions

Specimen Collection: 

 

Conjunctiva: Cleanse area around eye with mild detergent. Moisten swab with saline and roll over conjunctiva.

 

Corneal scraping: Specimen collected by opthalmologist using a sterile spatula to scrape ulcers and/or lesions. Scrapings are directly inoculated into plate media and glass slides. Call 773-702-6133 for plate media and slides.

 

Vitreous fluid: Surgical aspiration.
 


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. 

Reference Values

 

Test

Age

Sex

Reference Range

Culture

All

All

No Growth/Normal Flora
Stain All All No organsims seen

Turnaround Time

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

STAT Turnaround Time: Stain only - 1 hour

Routine Turnaround Time: 72 hours

Testing Schedule: Monday - Sunday

Clinical Indications

  • Aid in the diagnosis of bacterial infections.

CPT Codes

87070, 87205

LOINC Codes

30487070, 30687205

Methodology

Conventional culture on media

Synonyms/Keyword Search

CX, CX/ST, EYE, EYE CX, BACTERIAL CULTURE, CULTURE, CORNEA,

Last Review Date

02/06/2026