Fungal Culture Bone Chips
What is this test?
Fungal culture bone chips are performed on a sample of bone chips to check for the fungal growth on it. This test helps to know whether you have a fungal infection affecting the bones or cartilages.
What are the bone and cartilage fungal infections?
Fungal organisms are found anywhere in the environment. They exist as two forms yeasts and molds. The fungal organisms that exhibit a temperature-dependent switch between these two forms are known as dimorphic. These organisms can cause infections in individuals with poor immunity.
Candida species are the most common form of yeasts that cause fungal infections. These fungal organisms cause bloodstream infection with involvement of other organs. Cryptococcus species are another form of yeasts which can cause infections especially in individuals with poor immunity. Aspergillus genus members are a form of molds which can cause diseases and can trigger the allergic reactions in many individuals. Rhizopus, Mucor, Rhizomucor etc are other forms of molds that rarely cause infection.
Histoplasmosis, blastomycosis, sporotrichosis, coccidioidomycosis, paracoccidioidomycosis, and chromoblastomycosis are fungi that are dimorphic in nature. These fungal organisms exist as yeast form in infected individuals (host) and as a mold form in the environment.
Bone chips are small pieces of bone or cartilage that have come loose and float around the knee, foot, ankle, elbow etc. This can occur from an injury or lack of blood supply to these regions. Even a fracture also can cause a broken bone or bone chips. Infections are also one major cause for this condition. These bone or cartilage infections can be due to bacterial or fungal infection. This test helps to determine whether the infection is due to fungus or not.
Osteomyelitis is an infection in a bone characterized by swelling of bone. Osteomyelitis can also result from fungal infection. But they are less common and mainly affects the individuals with poor immunity. Candida species, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus, and Chalara ellisii, etc are the common fungal organisms that cause this infection. Signs and symptoms of fungal osteomyelitis are fever, pain, heat, warmth, redness, swelling over the areas of infection, fatigue, etc.
Why this test is performed?
This test is performed as part of routine health screening or to determine the presence of fungal growth in bone chips. Your doctor may ask to perform this test if you experience any signs and symptoms of bone or cartilage fungal infections such as fever, pain, heat, warmth, redness, swelling over the areas of infection, fatigue, etc. This test is also performed to monitor and evaluate the treatment effectiveness in individuals receiving treatment for bone or cartilage fungal infections. However, your doctor may ask to perform a susceptibility testing on the fungi isolated from this culture test to determine the antifungal treatment.
Test Preparation
Inform your doctor if you are on any medications, have any allergies or underlying medical conditions before your Fungal Culture Bone Chips. Your doctor will give specific instructions depending on your condition on how to prepare for Fungal Culture Bone Chips.
No specific preparation is required for this test. However, follow all the instructions given by your healthcare provider.
Understanding your test results
The test results may be vary depending on gender, age, health conditions, and other factors.
If the culture test is positive it may indicate the growth of fungal organisms such as isolates of Candida, Aspergillus species, or any other fungal organisms in the bone chips. It may indicate the presence of bone or cartilage fungal infections. However, a few more additional tests may also be performed depending on the suspected cause and typical results, along with the physical symptoms to diagnose the exact infection.
If the culture test is negative it means no growth of fungal organisms is detected from the bone chips.
Based on the test results, your doctor may advise you appropriate medical treatments or further diagnostic tests.
| Gender | Age groups | Value |
| UNISEX | All age groups | The growth observed depends on the type of the fungal organism that grows |