Christian Institute of Health Sciences and Research

A NABH Pre-Accreditation Entry Level Hospital

Microbiology

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The department focuses on continuous medical education for their staff. Weekly seminars, journal clubs, practical tests etc. are being conducted to improve and motivate staff in the department, especially to provide quality services to patients and to maintain good laboratory management.

Overview

The Department of Microbiology comprises a number of sub-departments:

  • Bacteriology
  • Virology
  • Mycology
  • Serology
  • TB laboratory
Quality Control and Academics
  • Quality: The department aims at maintaining continuous and consistent quality through internal quality controls and by participating in External Quality Assessment Schemes with Christian Medical College, Vellore, and the Indian Association of Medical Microbiologists for Biochemistry and Microbiology.
  • CME: The department focuses on continuous medical education for its staff. Weekly seminars, journal clubs, practical tests, etc. are being conducted to improve and motivate staff in the department, especially to provide quality services to patients and to maintain good laboratory management. Some of the workshops and training that the staff has attended in 2017 are HISCON, NACO Blood Banking, Artificial insemination techniques, Basic Epidemiology (CMC Vellore), Hospital Management (CMAI Bangalore), NABL GCLP YRG Chennai, CART YRG, Chennai, etc.
  • Academics: The department is in the third year of running the Christian Medical Association Of India Diploma course in Medical laboratory Technology. Four seats are available for this course every year, with a minimum educational qualification of 10+2 with 45% in Science (PCB).

SERVICES

Timing

Doctors

Services

BACTERIOLOGY :

  • Bacterial culture and Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing for all specimens by manual culture and automated Biomerieux Vitek for Bacterial Identification and Quantitative Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing for faster turn around time.
  • Becton Dickinson, Bactec 9050 for Blood and other sterile body fluid culture
  • Gram stain
  • Ziehl Neelsen (AFB) stain
  • Wet mount
  • Hanging drop for V. cholerae
  • India ink
  • Tb laboratory
  • RNTCP Designated Microscopy Centre

 

MYCOLOGY :

  • KOH/scraping for fungus & others
  • Fungal culture for superficial, subcutaneous, and systemic mycoses

 

SEROLOGY :

  • Serum rapid RVT antibody test
  • Fourth generation ELISA (AG AB)
  • Serum rapid HBSAG
  • Serum rapid HCV antibody
  • Serum rapid HAV IgM, IgG
  • Serum VDRL / RPR / Syphilis Treponema specific antigen
  • Serum Dengue NS1 Ag and antibody
  • Serum Leptospiraigm, igg
  • Serum Scrub typhus antibody
  • Serum Anti Streptolysin O titre
  • Serum widal
  • Serum RA factor
  • Serum C-Reactive protein
  • Anti-Nuclear antibodies Screening
  • Anti-ds DNA
  • TORCH panel

 

VIROLOGY:

  • HIV Viral load PCR
  • HCV Viral load PCR
  • HBV Viral load PCR

 

OTHER TESTS :

  • GeneXpert for Molecular TB testing
  • Paragonimus
  • Identification of Coccidia (HIV parasites) :
    • Isospora Belli
    • Cyclospora
    • Microsporum

Other Special Tests

  • GeneXpert: The GeneXpert (molecular testing) machine aides in identifying Multi Drug Resistant (MDR) TB. This particularly has been helping the clinicians in treating pulmonary tuberculosis as well as extrapulmonary tuberculosis. GeneXpert can not only perform molecular testing for TB but also for other infectious diseases like HIV Viral load, HCV Viral load, Chlamydia and Gonorrhea.
  • Biomerieux Vitek, the automated system for Bacterial Identification and Antibiotic Susceptibility testing not only identifies bacteria but also indicates bacterial resistance like ESBL, Carbapenem resistance, MRSA etc. at a faster turnaround time with MIC. These systems are updated with latest CLSI guidelines so that the data generated are standard, reliable and up-to-date.
  • Becton Dickinson 9050, an automated analyzer for blood culture and other sterile body fluids helps in indicating whether a blood culture test is positive of bacteriological etiology or not, thus helping in management of patients with fever of unknown origin.
  • ELISA (Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay) – Fully automated Work station for infectious diseases like HIV, Hepatitis, TORCH panel at high specificity and sensitivity. Immunological tests like Anti nuclear antibodies, dSDNA and Vitamin D etc.
    ** ELISA (yet to be scheduled for ANA, dsDNA, TORCH and Vitamin D)