title: Comparison of Gram stain and Nomarski optics for screening sputum specimens before culture.
abstract: Although the Gram stain is usually used to screen sputum specimens prior to culture, wet mount observation with Nomarski optics has been suggested as a useful alternative. We compared the two methods and found that more specimens were rejected by the Gram stain technique without eliminating any that yielded important clinical information.
mesh_terms: D005840:Gentian Violet; D006801:Humans; D008828:Microbiological Techniques; D008853:Microscopy; D010619:Phenazines; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D013183:Sputum / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: C035863:Gram's stain; D010619:Phenazines; D005840:Gentian Violet