Acid-fast staining is used to diagnose which disease, and what is the typical time frame for culture results?

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Multiple Choice

Acid-fast staining is used to diagnose which disease, and what is the typical time frame for culture results?

Acid-fast staining highlights organisms with a waxy, mycolic-acid–rich cell wall, which includes Mycobacterium species. Because of this property, TB is the classic disease detected by this stain; a positive acid-fast smear in specimens like sputum strongly points to tuberculosis and triggers confirmatory testing. But culture is needed for definitive diagnosis and for drug susceptibility testing, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis grows slowly. That means culture results are typically about 2–3 weeks to become available, though some cases may take longer. The other diseases aren’t diagnosed with this stain, since malaria is identified by parasite staining in blood and pneumonia or meningitis rely on different tests and have different typical culture timelines.

Acid-fast staining highlights organisms with a waxy, mycolic-acid–rich cell wall, which includes Mycobacterium species. Because of this property, TB is the classic disease detected by this stain; a positive acid-fast smear in specimens like sputum strongly points to tuberculosis and triggers confirmatory testing. But culture is needed for definitive diagnosis and for drug susceptibility testing, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis grows slowly. That means culture results are typically about 2–3 weeks to become available, though some cases may take longer. The other diseases aren’t diagnosed with this stain, since malaria is identified by parasite staining in blood and pneumonia or meningitis rely on different tests and have different typical culture timelines.

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