Infectious Disease

Culture, Environmental Surveillance

Test Code: 4479

CPT Code(s): Not applicable

Clinical Significance: Aside from well-accepted environmental cultures such as monitoring sterilization practices and monthly cultures of hospital waters and dialysate fluids, all other environmental microbiological investigations should be performed only as part of epidemiologic investigations in which environmental or medical-device surfaces may represent microbial reservoirs or sources of health care-associated pathogens.