A cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) sample collected from a child yields the following results: turbid and cloudy, very high total protein levels, and very low glucose levels.  What would the probable diagnosis be?

Three sets of blood cultures were obtained from an adult patient with fever and suspected endocarditis. The aerobic bottle of one set had growth of Staphylococcus epidermidis at 5 days of incubation. This indicates that:

When performing a gram stain from a thio broth, stain interpretation, shape and arrangement is reported.

The following is seen on a BAP.  What is the presumptive organism identification? image00263924061.jpg

What condition presents as a localized area of mildly painful erythema, warmth, and swelling of the skin with poorly demarcated margins?

What is the most common bacteria found on the skin?

The optichin disk is commonly referred to as what?

BSL-3 organisms are those that:

Why has Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) infections decreased in children?

It is vitally important to have a pure culture or isolated colonies when performing antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST).  This may require colonies to be “subbed out” prior to setting AST.