Table 1. General laboratory practices for 107 Pennsylvania laboratories performing testing of stool specimens, 2009*.
| Laboratory practice/method | No. (%) laboratories |
|---|---|
| Routine stool culture includes the following pathogens | |
| Salmonella spp. | 107 (100) |
| Shigella spp. | 107 (100) |
| Campylobacter spp. | 104 (97.2) |
| Aeromonas spp. | 62 (57.9) |
| Plesiomonas spp. | 59 (55.1) |
| Vibrio spp. | 24 (22.2) |
| Yersinia spp. | 38 (35.5) |
| Escherichia coli O157 and STEC stool testing | |
| Routine E. coli O157culture | 44 (41.1) |
| Culture plus Shiga toxin antigen testing | 17 (15.8) |
| Special request E. coli O157 culture | 47 (43.9) |
| Special request Shiga-toxin antigen | 52 (48.6) |
| Special request stool culture for the following pathogens | |
| Aeromonas spp. | 35 (32.7) |
| Plesiomonas spp. | 34 (31.8) |
| Vibrio spp. | 75 (70.0) |
| Yersinia spp. | 65 (60.7) |
| Fecal white cell analysis | 99 (92.5) |
| Transport medium† | 47 (43.9) |
| Medium used | |
| Cary-Blair | 41 (87.0) |
| Not specified | 6 (13.0) |
| No medium used | 59 (55.1) |
| No response | 1 (<1.0) |
| Average time to plating stool specimen after receipt, h | |
| <4 | 81 (75.7) |
| 4–8 | 23 (21.5) |
| >8 | 3 (2.8) |
*STEC, Shiga toxin–producing E. coli. †Laboratories received specimens in transport media >75% of the time.