Anaerobic culture

This test looks for certain bacteria in a wound or an infection in a fluid sample. These bacteria are called anaerobic because they don’t need oxygen to grow.

Infections caused by anaerobic bacteria can occur almost anywhere in your body. These may be oral infections, lung infections, diabetes-related foot infections, infected bites, and gangrene. Finding the specific bacteria that’s causing your infection helps your health care provider choose the right treatment.

This test takes up to a week for results. That’s because any bacteria from the sample need time to grow so they can be looked at in a lab. An anaerobic culture means the test is done without letting oxygen get to the sample.

• Various samples
• We perform the test daily