Mayo Test Catalog, (Sorted By Test Name) - Mayo Medical ...

EPRP
60235
PFGE
80349
chronically infected by some organisms over a long period of time, positive results must be interpreted
in conjunction with previous findings and the clinical picture to appropriately evaluate results.
Reference Values:
No growth or usual flora
Clinical References: Infections of the lower respiratory tract. In Bailey & Scott's Diagnostic
Microbiology. 12th edition. Edited by B Forbes, D Sahm, A Weissfeld. St. Louis, Mosby Elsevier, 2002
pp 798-813
Bacterial Enteric Pathogens, Molecular Detection, PCR
Clinical Information: Despite advances in water treatment, food safety, and sanitary conditions,
acute diarrheal disease remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Most bacterial
enteric infections in the United States originate within the food supply chain. According to the CDC, 43%
of laboratory-confirmed bacterial enteric infections in the US are caused by Salmonella species, followed
by Campylobacter species (33%), Shigella species (17%), shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (4.1%),
and Yersinia species (0.9%).(1) Although Salmonella, Campylobacter, Shigella, Yersinia species, and
Escherichia coli O157:H7 are easily cultivated on standard selective and differential bacteriologic media,
isolation and final identification are time consuming, delaying diagnosis for several days and putting
patients at risk for untreated infection and spread of infection to others. For example, the time to final
identification from stool culture for Salmonella, Shigella, and Yersinia species ranges from 3 to 5 days,
and for Campylobacter species it ranges from 2 to 4 days. Furthermore, non-O157:H7 shiga
toxin-producing Escherichia coli are not readily isolated in the clinical laboratory. PCR detection of the
most common agents of bacterial enteric infections directly from stool specimens is sensitive, specific,
and provides same-day results, eliminating the need for culture in most cases. In addition, PCR provides
physicians with a new tool in their care of patients and public health personnel in their investigation and
control of the spread of these diseases.
Useful For: Rapid, sensitive, and specific identification of the common bacterial causes of diarrhea;
Campylobacter jejuni/coli, Salmonella species, Shigella species, enteroinvasive Escherichia coli, shiga
toxin-producing Escherichia coli, and Yersinia species
Interpretation: A positive PCR result for any 1 of the specific assays (Campylobacter jejuni/coli,
Salmonella species, Shigella species/enteroinvasive Escherichia coli, shiga toxin-producing Escherichia
coli, or Yersinia species) indicates the presence of the respective organism in the specimen. A negative
result indicates the absence of detectable Salmonella species, Shigella species/enteroinvasive Escherichia
coli, pathogenic Yersinia species, Campylobacter jejuni/coli and Shiga toxin DNA in the specimen, but
does not rule out infection with these or other enteric pathogens. False-negative results may occur due to
inhibition of PCR (known inhibition rate of