Culture for alarm pathogens

What is a culture for alarm pathogensórs?

Alarm pathogens are a clearly defined group of microorganismsórial pathogens thatócause life-threatening conditions for patients and are characterized by multidrug resistance, that is, they present significant difficulties in treatment, as many of the therapeutic substances used do not show significant efficacy against them. In addition, they have a high epidemiological potential, by virtue of the fact that asymptomatic carriage is often possible, whichóre can be easilyób transmitted from person to person.

Screening for alert pathogensós is a microbiological test thatós aimed at identifying microorganismsós possibly present in the patient's specimen, enabling faster implementation of procedures to prevent their spread and effective treatment planning.

When should a culture for alarm pathogensów be performed?

Culturing for alarm pathogensós is performed when a patient is suspected of being infected with the following bacteria and fungi thatóre highly resistant to classically used treatment:

• methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
• enterococci
• enterobacteriaceae spp.
• bacteriaceae
• non-fermenting bacilli
• anaerobic bacillus Clostridium difficile
• pneumonia germs
• fungi Candida

All of these pathogens can cause infections of different systemsós, the symptoms of which will vary depending on which part of the body is currently affected.

These pathogens can cause infections of different systemsós, the symptoms of which will vary depending on which part of the body is currently affected.

Culturing involves culturing bacteria obtained from a specimen taken from the patient and evaluating their speciesóon the basis of the characteristic appearance of bacterial colonies and determining their resistance to various antibiotics.

Who should perform culture for alarm pathogensó

The doctor decides whether to perform this test on the basis of the patient's clinical symptomsóls and an assessment of the possible risk of microorganismsóls from this group in a given case. Specificallyólly consider performing this test when the treatment used so far does not bring a reduction in the severity of symptomsól. All detected infections with pathogens from this group are reportable to the sanitary authorities.

Screening for alarm pathogens

The results of this test contain information on the presence of pathogensów of the alarm pathogen group in the prób sent for microbiological examination.

The results of this test contain information on the presence of pathogensów of the alarm pathogen group in the prób sent for microbiological examination

In addition, an antibiogram, that is, a list of therapeutic substances to which a given bacterium is least and most resistant, is also provided, which greatly facilitates the planning of effective antibiotic therapy.

When ordering antibioticsós, it is necessary to strictly adhere to the doctor's recommendations regarding the duration of their use, since failure to complete the full treatment may result in the survival in the body of microorganismsós most resistant to antibiotics, which in the case of alarm pathogensós makes re-treatment very difficult, as a result of which the possibility of halting the progressós disease caused by them will be very limited. This can result in more severe complications for the patient's health and life, including death.