NURS 210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Venipuncture, Gram Staining, Blood Culture
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Whether the bacteria takes a gram stain (gram + or gram - ) Whether the bacteria is oxygen-dependent (aerobic) or not (anaerobic) The shape of the bacteria: round (cocci, rod-shaped (bacilli, spiral-shaped (spirilla) The stain is only a presumptive identification of bacteria. The culture allows the bacteria to grow and multiply for more exact identification. Organisms grow at varying rates, and therefore the time required for a culture result can range from 2 days to as long as 10 days. Specimens for blood culture are placed in two different containers. One container is used to test for aerobic organisms and the other for anaerobic organisms. Fungi and viruses are usually tested by means of serologic tests, rather than culture. The sensitivity test demonstrates the ability of the antibiotic to inhibit growth of the bacteria. If the bacteria is sensitive to the antibiotic, it means that the antibiotic is bacteriostatic or bactericidal for that strain.
