This article has multiple issues. Please help improve the article or discuss these issues on the talk page. It needs additional references or sources for verification. Tagged since July 2009. It may require general cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Tagged since July 2007.

Abnormal sputum

Cocci-shaped Enterococcus sp. bacteria taken from a pneumonia patient.
ICD-10	R09.3
ICD-9	786.4

Sputum is matter that is expectorated from the respiratory tract, such as mucus or phlegm, mixed with saliva, which can then be spat from the mouth. It is usually associated with air passages in diseased lungs, bronchi, or upper respiratory tract. It can be found to contain blood if in a chronic cough possibly from severe cases of tuberculosis.

A sputum sample is the name given to the mucus that is coughed up from the lower airways. It is usually used for microbiological investigations of respiratory infections.^[1]

The best sputum samples contain very little saliva^[2], as this contaminates the sample with oral bacteria. This event is assessed by the clinical microbiologist by examining a Gram stain of the sputum. More than 25 squamous epithelial cells at low enlargement indicates salivary contamination.^{[citation needed]}

When a sputum specimen is plated out, it is best to get the portion of the sample that most looks like pus onto the swab^{[citation needed]}. If there is any blood in the sputum, this should also be on the swab.^{[citation needed]}

Microbiological sputum samples are usually used to look for infections by Moraxella catarrhalis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae. Other pathogens can also be found.

Purulent Sputum is that containing, or consisting of, pus.

Sputum can be:

1. Bloody (often found in tuberculosis) (Haemoptysis)
2. Rusty colored - usually caused by pneumococcal bacteria (in pneumonia)
3. Purulent - containing pus. The color gives hints about probable causes^[3]:
   1. a yellow-greenish (mucopurulent) color points to a bacterial infection.
   2. a white, milky, or opaque (mucoid) appearance often means a viral infection.
4. Foamy white - may come from obstruction or even Edema

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• http://www.fpnotebook.com/LUN70.htm

This anatomy article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e