Sputum analysis method
AssigneeJ. K. and Susie L. Wadley Research Institute and Blood Bank
InventorGordon L. Dorn
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An in vitro diagnostic technique for quantitative analysis of human sputum, such as lung fluid, for the presence of microbial pathogens is provided wherein a sputum sample is contacted with a minor quantity of nontoxic saponin to degrade the viscosity of the sputum and thereafter the sputum is thoroughly admixed to distribute microbial pathogens generally uniformly therein. The sputum can be diluted as desired and then subjected to conventional analytical techniques, i.e., plating on growth media and recording results.
Claims12
In a method of detecting the presence of pathogenic organisms in the respiratory tract wherein a sample of lung fluid is obtained and thereafter analyzed for the presence of microbial pathogens, the improvement comprising:
- admixing said sample of lung fluid with an effective mucolytic amount to degrade the viscosity of said lung fluid sample and to impart a substantially uniform viscosity to said sample of lung fluid of a nontoxic saponin which has had microbial toxins removed therefrom which exhibit an apparent molecular weight of less than about 600 in an aqueous solution and thereafter thoroughly admixing the resulting sample having said substantially uniform viscosity to uniformly disperse said microbial pathogens therewithin prior to the time that said sample is analyzed.
In a method of detecting the presence of pathogenic organisms in the respiratory tract wherein a sputum sample is obtained and thereafter analyzed for the presence of microbial pathogens, the improvement comprising:
- admixing said sputum sample with an effective mucolytic amount to degrade the viscosity of said sputum sample of a nontoxic saponin which has had microbial toxins removed therefrom which exhibit an apparent molecular weight of less than about 600 in an aqueous solution and allowing the viscosity of said sputum sample to degrade prior to the time that said sample is analyzed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.