Culture And Sensitivity Aerobic Tracheal Trap Swab
What is this test?
Tracheal trap swab culture and sensitivity is a technique predominantly used to test the sensitivity of the aerobic bacteria, which can infect the tracheal tube and trachea. This test is done on both males and females to find out whether the trachea is infected by a bacteria or not.
What are Trachea, Bacteria, Aerobic Bacteria, and their types?
The trachea is also known as the windpipe. It is divided into two smaller tubes called bronchi. Each bronchus for each lung. So air enters into lungs through trachea and bronchus. Infection to the trachea is known as tracheitis.
Bacteria are the single-celled micro-organisms that can live within the soil, in the ocean and also inside the human gut. They have a number of shapes such as spirals, rods, and spheres etc. Some bacteria can cause illness to the human body and some other plays a major role in the overall functioning of our ecosystem.
Aerobic bacteria are the bacteria which can survive in the presence of oxygen only. In the absence of oxygen, aerobic bacteria cannot survive and can die. Some of the aerobic bacteria are Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Nocardia, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis etc.
Why this test is performed?
This test is performed to check if an individual trachea is infected by an aerobic bacteria or not. This test may be recommended to you by a physician if you experience symptoms such as high fever, wheezing, difficulty in breathing, severe cough, chest pain, scratchy feeling in the throat, headache, dizziness, earache etc.
This test also helps the doctors to plan the treatment according to the type of bacteria, that infects the trachea. The test is also performed to check the effectiveness of the treatment.
Also known as C/S Aerobic Tracheal Trap Swab.
Test Preparation
Inform your doctor if you are on any medications, have any allergies or underlying medical conditions before your Culture And Sensitivity Aerobic Tracheal Trap Swab. Your doctor will give specific instructions depending on your condition on how to prepare for Culture And Sensitivity Aerobic Tracheal Trap Swab.
You are advised to drink plenty of fluids on the evening before the test day. You have to rinse your mouth with plain water just before the test so that you do not contaminate the sputum being coughed up with the bacteria in your mouth. You should not brush your teeth or use mouthwash. Doing so could kill bacteria in the sputum, rendering it useless. Some drugs may affect the test results. Hence, you are advised to inform your doctor about all your current medications before undergoing this test.
Understanding your test results
The test results may vary depending on age, health history, medical condition, etc.
If your test results are negative, then it may indicate that there are no signs of growth of aerobic bacteria.
If your test results are positive, then it may indicate there is a chance for growth of aerobic bacteria, which means that the trachea has been infected by an aerobic bacteria.
If abnormal test results were seen, consult your doctor immediately with your lab test reports.
| Gender | Age groups | Value |
| UNISEX | All age groups | The growth depends on the infecting organism. Clearing around the disc indicates organism is sensitive to antibiotic |