Hello,
How would I LOINC map an anaerobic urine culture?
630-8 Bacteria identified in Urine by Culture, does not specify aerobic or anaerobic.
Could this be used for both aerobic and anaerobic?
I see where other cultures, i.e. Wound culture, do have both methods specified, but Urine and CSF only have a method of culture.
Please advise what to do in this situation.
Thank you,
Jane Burke
Hi Jane,
My first thought is if the coding went with a nonspecific culture method result LOINC, and an anaerobic organism is reported in a positive culture, has there been any miscommunication? There are so many setups, probes, conditions run “behind the scenes” of a culture that I often feel not everything to dictate the specificity and sensitivity of a result can be conveyed in just the LOINC code. While there are other locations in the HL7 message stream to portray assay methods, I haven’t found them in high use yet.
If the local lab’s database model runs separate result fields for the aerobic and anaerobic cultures of any specimen, and reports them out every time, then I would suggest a submission to Regenstrief for the new set of aerobic and anaerobic cultures is in order. I would suggest a portion of the protocol be included to convey the clinical need for distinguishing these organisms in a separate culture type.
Just my opinion,
Best Regards,
Pam Banning