Spook Season Lab Facts Part 4: Goblins Lurking Under the Microscope…

Halloween is the perfect time to talk about things that are creepy, mysterious, and sometimes downright scary. 

No, we're not talking about ghosts.  

We're talking about bacteria, yeast, and other microorganisms that can cause infections, and the Gunnison Valley Health laboratory's microbiology team is ready to hunt them down.   

Who's Doing the Investigative Work? 

Behind the scenes at Gunnison Valley Health is a fully functional microbiology department that allows our laboratory team to culture and investigate patient specimens right here in the Gunnison Valley.  

From urine and blood to wounds, respiratory specimens, and other bodily fluids, our microbiology team works to determine whether an infection is present, identify the organism responsible, and determine which antibiotics are most likely to be effective against it.  

From a Simple UTI to a Life-Threatening Infection  

Microbiology may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about hospital care, but these tests can provide critical information for a wide range of patients.  

A urinary tract infection (UTI) may seem relatively routine, but a urine culture can identify the specific bacteria causing the infection and provide antibiotic susceptibility results to help clinicians select appropriate treatment.  

Other Infections 

A wound or surgical-site infection can be much more complicated. Wound specimens may contain multiple types of microorganisms, including bacteria that require oxygen to grow as well as anaerobic bacteria that can only grow in environments where oxygen is absent.  

Our microbiology team can culture appropriate wound specimens under strict anaerobic conditions, creating an oxygen-free environment that allows these organisms to grow and be identified. This is an important part of evaluating certain deep wounds, abscesses, surgical-site infections, and other infections where anaerobic bacteria may be involved.  

Infections Where Every Minute Matters 

When bacteria enter the bloodstream, a patient can develop bacteremia, which may progress to sepsis, a serious and potentially life-threatening response to infection. Blood cultures are an essential part of evaluating these patients to determine if bacteria is growing in the bloodstream. When bacteria is detected, our microbiology team works to identify it and determine its antibiotic susceptibility as quickly as possible.  

What Happens Behind the Scenes?  

When a specimen arrives in the laboratory, the work is just beginning.  

Our microbiology team uses a combination of microscopy, culture techniques, specialized testing methods, and clinical laboratory expertise to investigate what may be growing in a patient's specimen.  

One of the first tools can be a microscopic Gram stain. By staining bacteria and examining them under a microscope, technologists can evaluate characteristics such as their shape, arrangement, and whether they are Gram-positive or Gram-negative. This can provide an early clue about what type of bacteria may be present and can help guide additional testing while the culture continues to develop.  

But seeing bacteria under the microscope is only part of the investigation.  

Our team also uses specialized culture media and selective growth media designed to encourage certain organisms to grow while inhibiting others. Different microorganisms have different nutritional and environmental requirements, so selecting the appropriate media and conditions can help laboratory professionals isolate and identify organisms that may otherwise be difficult to detect.  

Once organisms grow, the investigation continues. Technologists examine the growth characteristics and perform appropriate identification testing to determine what organism is present. When clinically indicated, antibiotic susceptibility testing can then determine which antibiotics the organism is susceptible or resistant to.  

The laboratory is looking for clues about what is growing, where it is growing, and what can stop it.  

Not all bacteria respond to the same antibiotics. Some organisms have developed resistance to certain medications, while others remain susceptible. Identifying these differences provides physicians with valuable information when determining the most appropriate treatment for an individual patient.  

Keeping the Valley One Step Ahead of the “Monsters”  

Microbiology is a great example of how much happens behind the scenes in a hospital laboratory.  

You may never see the technologist examining a Gram stain under the microscope, carefully selecting culture media, tending cultures, creating specialized growth conditions, identifying an organism, or reviewing susceptibility results, but that work can directly contribute to decisions about a patient's care.  

Having these capabilities in-house means a significant portion of this work can be performed right here at Gunnison Valley Health rather than sending specimens away. For a rural mountain community, having trained laboratory professionals and microbiology capabilities close to home helps keep important diagnostic information connected to the patients and clinicians who need it.  

So this Halloween, while you're watching out for ghosts, goblins, and things that go bump in the night…  

Our microbiology team will be watching for the things you can't see.