The Most Bothersome Contaminating Materials for the Laboratory Professional Are

Question

The most bothersome contaminating materials for the laboratory professional are those that
A) make it hard to see the pathogenic bacteria through all the mucus.
B) contain microorganisms that will grow in culture and confuse the culture evaluation.
C) make processing the specimen through digestion and straining extremely time consuming.
D) appear to resemble fungus on the direct smear.

Accepted Answer

Contaminating materials that contain microorganisms that will grow in culture can confuse the evaluation of the culture results, potentially leading to misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment. Contaminants such as mucus, digestive particles, and fungus-like structures may make interpretation of the specimen more challenging, but do not necessarily pose a significant risk to the accuracy of the test results.