Why do you need a smear? A swab of the throat allows you to determine the state of the bacterial flora of the patient. Also, with its help, a level of sensitivity to antibacterial drugs is established. A smear is performed to diagnose a sore throat in children and adults. The samples obtained are tested in laboratory conditions. This allows you to accurately assess the nature of the disease and select the optimal treatment.
How is a throat swab?
The swab used in this procedure must be sterile. With its help, mucus samples are removed from the surface of the pharynx. To do this, with a special tool (putty knife), the doctor should lightly press the root of the patient's tongue to reach the back wall of the pharynx. In this case, it is advisable not to touch the surface of the teeth and oral mucosa with a swab. Then the swab is placed in a sterile flask, which is hermetically sealed and sent to the laboratory.
What is required from the patient?
Before making a swab from the throat, you need to instruct the patient about the need for preliminary preparation. Within 2 hours before taking the material, the patient should not eat or gargle. If a smear is taken from the nose, then the nasal cavity must first be cleaned.
Nasal swab
The sampling of the material is as follows. A sterile swab is inserted alternately into each nostril. In this case, it is necessary to ensure its tight contact with the walls and septum of the nose. The collected material is immediately sown on prepared culture media. Part of the material must be placed on a glass slide, circle with a glass scanner and sent for microscopic examination.
Rhinocytological examination
For this procedure, the swab used is moistened with saline, then inserted 2-3 cm into the nasal passage. In this case, the swab should be pressed to the lower part of the mucous membrane of the nasal concha. Samples of the material are carried out on a glass-free glass slide. In the future, the resulting material in the laboratory will be subjected to special coloring. This will make it possible to establish the cellular composition of the substance.
Immunofluorescence assay
For accelerated diagnosis, samples of the bacterial flora can be sent for immunofluorescence analysis. Then the test samples are treated with serum antibodies labeled with fluorochromes. When they are combined with homologous antigens, a characteristic glow appears in the patient's samples. It is clearly visible in a luminescent microscope and allows you to quickly diagnose the disease.
Analysis results
The results of laboratory tests, as a rule, are prepared within 3-5 days. A swab from the throat or nose helps to pinpoint the cause of the disease. This is extremely important for patients! Therefore, if an infectious disease is suspected, doctors often prescribe these tests. Treatment is carried out taking into account the identified features of the patient's bacterial flora.