Sign in →

Respiratory Fungal Culture & Stain

Important Note

Endotracheal or Tracheal aspirates are NOT recommended for Pediatric patients. Please consult Pediatric Infectious Disease before collecting.

Infectious

Specimen and Container/Tube

Specimen Type: Sputum, tracheal aspirate, broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL), transtracheal aspirate, oral, oropharyngeal, sinus, bronchial brush

Preferred Specimen: Sterile, sealable, screw-cap container

Other Acceptable specimens: Transport swab

Volume

Preferred Volume: 1 mL

Pediatric Volume: 1 mL

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: 

 

Sputum: Rinse mouth or gargle with water to remove excess oral flora. Patient must cough deeply.

 

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

 

BAL: Aspirate through inner chamber at bronchoscopy.

 

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

 

Oral/oropharyngeal: Swab areas of exudation or inflammation.

 

Sinus: Aspirate collected by physician.

 

Bronchial brush: Place in 1 mL sterile saline.

 


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. 
  • Only 1 sputum specimen per day will be accepted.
  • Only 1 tracheal aspirate specimen per day will be accepted.

Reference Values

 

Test

Age

Sex

Reference Range

Culture

All

All

Negative

Turnaround Time

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

STAT Turnaround Time: not available

Routine Turnaround Time: up to 4 weeks

Testing Schedule: Monday - Sunday

Clinical Indications

  • Aid in the diagnosis of fungal infections.

CPT Codes

87102, 87206

LOINC Codes

30687102, 30387206

Methodology

Conventional fungal culture method

Synonyms/Keyword Search

CX, CX/ST, respiratory, fungal, culture

Last Review Date

11/14/2025