Sputum
| Abnormal sputum | ||
|---|---|---|
| Other names | Mucus | |
primary sources. (September 2023) |  | |
Sputum is
A naked eye exam of the sputum can be done at home by a patient in order to note the various colors (see below). Any hint of yellow or green color (pus) suggests an airway infection (but does not indicate the type of organism causing it). Such color hints are best detected when the sputum is viewed on a very white background such as white paper, a white pot or a white sink surface.
Having green, yellow, or thickened phlegm (sputum) does not always indicate the presence of an infection. Also, if an infection is present, the color of the phlegm (sputum) does not determine whether a virus, a bacterium or another pathogen has caused it. Simple allergies can also cause changes in the color of the mucus. [1]
Description
The best sputum samples contain very little
When a sputum specimen is plated out in microbiology, it is best to get the portion of the sample that almost looks like yellow pus onto the swab. If there is any blood in the sputum, this should also be on the swab.[
Interpretation
Sputum can be (when examined by the naked eye):[citation needed]
- Bloody[5] (hemoptysis)
- Blood-streaked sputum –an indicator of possible inflammation of the throat (larynx and/or trachea) or bronchi; lung cancer; other bleeding erosions, ulcers, or tumors of the lower airway.
- Pink sputum – it indicates sputum evenly mixed with blood from alveoli and/or small peripheral bronchi as is seen in potential pulmonary edema.
- Massive blood – an indicator of possible cavitary tuberculosis or tumor such as lung cancer, or lung abscess; bronchiectasis; lung infarction; pulmonary embolism.
- Red, jelly-like sputum - an indicator of possible pneumonia caused by Klebsiella.
- Green or greenish colored - indicative of potential longstanding respiratory infection (green from degenerative changes in cell debris) as in pneumonia, ruptured lung abscess, chronic infectious bronchitis, and infected bronchiectasis or cystic fibrosis.
- Rust colored – usually caused by .
- Brownish –potential indicator of chronic bronchitis (greenish/yellowish/brown); chronic pneumonia (whitish-brown); tuberculosis; lung cancer.
- Yellow, yellowish purulent – an indicator of the sample containing pus. "The sputum color of patients with acute cough and no underlying chronic lung disease does not imply therapeutic consequences such as prescription of antibiotics."[7] The color can provide hints as to effective treatment in chronic bronchitis patients:[8]
- A yellow-greenish (mucopurulent) color suggests that treatment with antibiotics can reduce symptoms. The green color is caused by degenerating neutrophil verdoperoxidase.
- Whitish gray sputum color against a white color background (such as a white sink surface) tends to indicate either a specimen from someone who is dehydrated, and/or from an older person, and/or a specimen with a mixed, modest number of eosinophils and maybe some acute inflammatory neutrophil cells (this last choice tends to suggest chronic allergic bronchitis).
- A white, milky, or opaque (mucoid) appearance means that antibiotics are less likely to be effective in treatment because the likelihood is greater of a viral infection or allergy than of antibiotic-responsive micro-organisms. Thickness may indicate asthma.
- Foamy white – may come from earlier-phase pulmonary edema.
- Frothy pink – may indicate more severe pulmonary edema. Antibiotics may not be necessary at this time.
- Clear – pulmonary embolism (clear to frothy); COPD chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (clear to gray); viral respiratory infection (clear to whitish and sometimes a hint of yellow); asthma (thick and white to yellowish).
See also
References
- ^ "Green phlegm and snot 'not always a sign of an infection needing antibiotics'". GOV.UK. 18 November 2013. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
- ^ Clinical Microbiology procedures handbook, American Society for Microbiology 2nd Ed. 2007 update
- PMID 10452752.
- PMID 29524537.
- ^ ISBN 0-07-140923-8.
- ^ What can sputum tell us?
- PMID 19242860.
- ^ Sputum Color is the Key to Treating Acute COPD Exacerbations
