Which of the following is NOT used for wound cultures?

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Multiple Choice

Which of the following is NOT used for wound cultures?

Wound cultures are guided by the need to recover a broad range of skin and soft-tissue pathogens, including Staphylococcus aureus, streptococci, and anaerobes. That means using media that support many organisms and, when needed, anaerobic conditions or fastidious growth requirements. Blood agar with CO2 helps recover a wide array of aerobes and some fastidious bacteria; chocolate agar with CO2 favors fastidious organisms like Haemophilus and Neisseria; anaerobic blood agar or plates incubated anaerobically are used to grow anaerobes common in wound infections. Thayer-Martin agar is highly selective for Neisseria species, designed to isolate Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis from mucosal and other sterile sites by suppressing contaminating flora with antibiotics. Because it suppresses most non-Neisseria organisms, it is not appropriate for routine wound cultures, where the goal is to recover the diverse organisms present. If Neisseria were suspected in a wound, other targeted approaches would be used rather than this medium for a standard wound culture.

Wound cultures are guided by the need to recover a broad range of skin and soft-tissue pathogens, including Staphylococcus aureus, streptococci, and anaerobes. That means using media that support many organisms and, when needed, anaerobic conditions or fastidious growth requirements. Blood agar with CO2 helps recover a wide array of aerobes and some fastidious bacteria; chocolate agar with CO2 favors fastidious organisms like Haemophilus and Neisseria; anaerobic blood agar or plates incubated anaerobically are used to grow anaerobes common in wound infections.

Thayer-Martin agar is highly selective for Neisseria species, designed to isolate Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis from mucosal and other sterile sites by suppressing contaminating flora with antibiotics. Because it suppresses most non-Neisseria organisms, it is not appropriate for routine wound cultures, where the goal is to recover the diverse organisms present. If Neisseria were suspected in a wound, other targeted approaches would be used rather than this medium for a standard wound culture.

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