0060149
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Fungal Culture

MC FUNG
Example Reports
Negative
Positive

Ordering Recommendation

Use to culture pathogenic fungi from any direct specimen other than blood or bone marrow. For blood or bone marrow specimens, refer to Blood Culture, Fungal (0060070).  
If medically indicated, fungal stain must be ordered separately; refer to Fungal Stain, KOH with Calcofluor White (2004589). 
This is not a preferred test to screen for C. auris colonization or rule out C. auris in skin specimens. This test may be used to culture suspected C. auris from specimens other than skin; please indicate the specimen source and include a note to rule out C. auris. To screen for C. auris colonization of the skin, refer to Candida Auris by PCR (3006370). If culture is indicated to obtain an isolate from skin for public health and/or susceptibility testing, refer to Candida Auris Surveillance Culture (3016815).

New York DOH Approval Status

This test is New York state approved.

Specimen Required

Patient Preparation
Collect

Material or fluid from any body site, except blood.

Specimen Preparation

Fluids: Transport 3 mL fluid in a sterile container. (Min: 1 mL).
Material: Transfer to sterile container.

A single specimen may be cultured for both bacteria and fungi. Place each specimen in an individually sealed bag.

Storage/Transport Temperature

Specimens from a sterile body site (fluids, tissues, etc.): Room temperature.
Cutaneous specimens (skin, hair, nails): Room temperature.
Specimens from other nonsterile sites (respiratory, GI tract, etc.): Refrigerated.

Unacceptable Conditions

Blood, catheter tips.

Remarks

Additional information required: Specimen source.

Notify laboratory if Malassezia furfur is suspected; special media must be used for the cultivation of this yeast.

Stability

CSF: Ambient: 48 hours; Refrigerated: Unacceptable; Frozen: Unacceptable
Skin, hair, or nail specimens: Ambient: 2 weeks; Refrigerated: Unacceptable Frozen: Unacceptable
All other specimens: Ambient: 72 hours; Refrigerated: 1 week; Frozen: Unacceptable

Methodology

Culture

Performed

Sun-Sat

Reported

7-35 days
Preliminary negative culture reported at 3 weeks. Final negative culture reported at 5 weeks.  Positive culture reported as soon as detected.

Reference Interval

Culture negative for fungus.

Interpretive Data



Compliance Category

Standard

Note

Identification is performed on any fungus recovered from a significant body site. Limited identification performed from nonsterile sites. Identification of molds and/or yeasts on positives is billed separately from culture.

Ground tissue will be tested with a disclaimer. There is decreased sensitivity on ground tissue specimens for some fungi, including Mucorales species.

A minimum of 1 mL of fluid is recommended for recovery of fungus. Volumes less than 1 mL may compromise recovery of fungus from culture and will be tested with a suboptimal disclaimer.

Hotline History

View Hotline History

 

Hotline History

Date of Change
Test Name Change
Methodology
Performance/Reported Schedule
Specimen Requirements
Reference Interval
Interpretive Data
Note
CPT Code
Component Change
Other Interface Change
New Test
Inactive
02/03/2025
X
X
N/A

CPT Codes

87102; CPT codes for identification vary based on method.

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Components

Component Test Code* Component Chart Name LOINC
0060149 Culture, Fungal 580-1
* Component test codes cannot be used to order tests. The information provided here is not sufficient for interface builds; for a complete test mix, please click the sidebar link to access the Interface Map.

Aliases

  • Dermatophyte Culture
  • Fungal Culture
  • Mold Culture
  • Yeast Culture
  • Culture, Fungus
Fungal Culture