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Fungus Culture, General  

 
IMPORTANT! Pre-approval needed from state or local health department. Local or State Health Department. Send approval to NPHL@unmc.edu or call (402) 559-9444.

NPHL has moved to an electronic ordering system, NUlirt, and it is now the preferred method to order all tests. Once ordered, print a "batch list" (see NUlirt Guide).

Forms Required - Nulirt batch list or NPHL Test Request Form (completed in entirety) must accompany the specimen to include the following information: symptoms and date of onset, pregnancy status, travel and vaccine history. Testing will not be performed without all required information.

Please call NPHL Client Services at (402) 559-2440 or toll free at (800) 334-0459 for further clarification.

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Test: Fungus Culture, General  
Synonym: Mycology Culture, Mold Identification  
Method: Standard reference procedures for fungal culture; DNA probes available on isolate for Histoplasma, Coccidioides, and Blastomyces  
Availability: Daily; preliminary report at 2 weeks; final report at 6 weeks for tissues, biopsies, and bone marrow and 4 weeks for all other sources  
Specimen: Tissue, pus, purulent fluid, respiratory specimens, body fluid, skin biopsy  
Collection Device: Sterile container or culturette swab  
Volume: 5.0 mL fluid minimum  
Storage/Transport:

Transport and store specimens from sterile body sites (fluids, tissues, etc.) at ambient temperature and refrigerate specimens from nonsterile sites (respiratory, GI tract, etc.)

 
Unacceptable: Non-sterile or leaking container, insufficient volume  
Specimen Stability:  
Reference Interval: No fungi isolated at 6 weeks  
Reportable Disease:  
Comments: Indicate suspected organism(s) on the test request form. Additional patient history may be helpful; include the patient's occupation, history of travel or residence abroad, and any animal contact. Media is available for direct inoculation. If CSF cannot be transported within 8 hours, hold at 35 °C until the time of transport. For blood specimens, refer to Fungus Culture, Blood. Notification of positive results for mold or positive CSF cultures is provided. For skin, hair, and nail specimens see Fungus Culture Dermatophyte.  
Revised: 2/13/2012 
If you have questions about proper specimen collection, please call NPHL Client Services at (402) 559-2440 or toll free at (800) 334-0459.

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