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Missouri Rehabilitation Center 600 North Main Street Mt. Vernon, MO 65712 (417) 466-3711 Accreditation Brain Injury Comprehensive Rehab Directions and Parking Email Us History Outpatient Services Patient & Visitor Information Payment Phone Numbers Pulmonary Rehabilitation Referring Patients

Missouri State Tuberculosis Laboratory

The Missouri State Tuberculosis Laboratory is a branch of the State Public Health Laboratory and provides a complete range of mycobacterial and fungal testing. We perform AFB smears and cultures, fungal smears and cultures, recovery and identification of all species of mycrobacteria and fungi, and perhaps the widest range of mycrobacterial drug susceptibility testing available in the Midwest. Specimens from all body sources may be submitted for testing.

The Missouri State Tuberculosis Laboratory is fully accredited by JCAHO (#8387) and by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (CLIA #26D0919251). Additionally, we subscribe to the tenets of good mycrobacterial laboratory practice as promulgated by CDC and ASTPHLD.

Specimens may be sent to our laboratory by a variety of delivery services. The U.S. Postal Service, Federal Express and several courier businesses will deliver specimens. In April 1997, the Missouri Department of Health expanded its contract with Lanter Courier Service to include TB and fungal specimens. Lanter now picks up these specimens from 72 sites state wide and delivers to the Missouri State Tuberculosis Laboratory. Deliveries are made overnight, greatly improving transit time compared to the mail. Additional sites will be added as needs and resources are evaluated.

Services offered:

Acid-fast smears

Routine smears are performed by a fluorochrome method and read on fluorescent microscopes. Smear reports are completed the same day the specimen is processed and are mailed to health care providers. Positive AFB smear results are telephoned same day to a responsible party at the facility submitting the specimen.

Cultures

Material for culture for mycrobacteria or fungi are inoculated to a series of media to enhance rapid recovery of organisms. Mycrobacterial isolates are identified primarily by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), which yields overnight identification results. When necessary, genetic probes and conventional biochemical methods may be used to characterize the organism. A sample of positive mycrobacterial isolates is frozen at minus 70 degrees C and maintained for at least two years for epidemiologic reasons. Fungus isolates are identified by genetic probes and the time-honored techniques of descriptive phenotypic traits.

Susceptibilities

Susceptibilities to the five primary drugs (streptomycin, isoniazid, rifampin, ethambutol, and pyrazinamide) will be performed on M. tuberculosis isolates from every patient. These tests are done by the rapid BACTEC methodology and results are usually available in six to ten days (from the time the procedure is started). Secondary drugs susceptibilities are automatically performed on multi-drug resistant isolates of M. tuberculosis. Drug testing to mycrobacteria other than tuberculosis (MOTT) is available upon request. For example, we perform a panel of eight antimicrobials (streptomycin, rifampin, ethambutol, ciprofloxicin, amikacin, rifabutin, clofazimine, and clarithromycin) to M.avium complex isolates. This procedure is a modified MIC method developed by Heifets et al. at National Jewish Tuberculosis Laboratory. For rapidly growing mycrobacteria, we offer sensitivities performed by the E-test method, which gives satisfactory results in two to six days. We follow scientific and clinical recommendations in the selection of antimicrobials for susceptibility testing.

Call (417) 466-3711 for more information.