Why are skin and wound cultures done?
A skin or wound culture is done to:
- Find the cause of an infection in a sore, burn, surgical wound, or injury. An injury includes animal bites, human bites, marine stings or scrapes, cuts, and puncture wounds that are more likely to get infected.
- Make decisions about the best treatment for an infection. This is called sensitivity testing.
How are skin and wound cultures done?
To collect a tissue or fluid sample from a wound, a sterile swab is inserted into the wound. The health professional collecting the sample may press around the wound and gently turn the swab to collect as much tissue or fluid as possible. The swab is then placed into either an aerobic or anaerobic culture tube or both, depending on the type of organism suspected.
A needle may be used to collect fluid from a wound that is covered (scabbed-over) or from an abscess. The fluid is then placed in the culture tube.
Your doctor may need to remove a sample of skin or tissue (biopsy) for testing. If collecting the sample is likely to cause pain, you may be given a shot to numb the area (local anesthetic) first.
Once a sample is collected, it is placed in a container with a substance (called growth medium or culture medium) that helps bacteria, fungus, or viruses grow.
- Bacteria usually need about 1 to 2 days to grow.
- Fungi usually need several days to grow.
- Viruses need to be placed in a container with living cells and can take weeks to grow.
Any bacteria, fungi, or viruses that grow will be identified with a microscope, chemical tests, or both. If sensitivity testing is done to help make decisions about treatment, more time will be needed.
How do you prepare for a skin and wound culture?
In general, there's nothing you have to do before this test, unless your doctor tells you to. If you are taking or have recently taken antibiotics, tell your doctor.
What do the results of skin and wound cultures mean?
Some types of bacteria, fungi, and viruses grow quickly in culture, and some grow slowly. Test results may take from 1 day to several weeks, depending on the type of infection suspected.
Normal: | Only the usual germs are found on the skin or in the wound. Normal culture results are negative. |
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Abnormal: | Harmful germs are found on the skin or in the wound. Abnormal culture results are positive. |
If test results are positive, sensitivity testing may be done help make decisions about treatment.
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