Routine sputum culture

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Sputum test

Sputum culture

No presence of disease-causing organisms in the sputum is normal.

The abnormal results will be reported as a positive culture. That means that there is a disease-producing organism found that may help diagnose bronchitis, tuberculosis, a lung abscess, or pneumonia.

Additional conditions under which the test may be performed:

• Aspiration pneumonia
• Atypical mycobacterial infection
• Atypical pneumonia
• Blastomycosis
• Bronchiectasis
• Coccidioidomycosis; acute (primary) pulmonary
• Coccidioidomycosis; chronic pulmonary
• Coccidioidomycosis; disseminated
• Cryptococcosis
• Disseminated tuberculosis (infectious)
• Histoplasmosis; acute (primary) pulmonary
• Histoplasmosis; chronic pulmonary
• Hospital-acquired pneumonia
• Mycoplasma pneumonia
• Plague
• Pulmonary aspergilloma (mycetoma)
• Pulmonary aspergillosis; invasive type
• Pulmonary tuberculosis
• Viral pneumonia

Review Date: 11/16/2005
Reviewed By: Monica Gandhi, M.D., M.P.H., Assistant Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, UCSF, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.