Examination of a smear from the pharynx for microflora

To diagnose the microflora of the pharynx, a throat swab is used, more precisely, from its mucous membrane, which allows doctors to identify the presence of pathogenic bacteria in the body and prescribe appropriate therapy.

When is a pap smear scheduled?

A throat swab can be prescribed by specialists for a preventive examination of a patient, when undergoing a medical examination before employment in the food industry, to work in a children’s team, in hospitals and other places where work is related to people or food. According to the results of such an analysis, doctors give a conclusion whether the subject is healthy, whether he can apply for a certain position. It is also important to take a throat swab for all pregnant women in order to prevent the occurrence of those diseases that can complicate the course of pregnancy or even interrupt it.

This analysis is done to children in preparation for visiting a kindergarten, a nursery, in order to prevent outbreaks of infectious diseases in children’s groups. Similar smears are also needed for hospitalizations carried out for various surgical interventions.

In this case, they will avoid unnecessary complications of the rehabilitation period, which may occur due to microorganisms living on the mucosa.

If there is contact with infected people who carry contagious microbial diseases, a throat swab procedure is also performed to avoid the occurrence of an epidemic and further spread of the disease.

If during treatment it is necessary to accurately select a drug that affects pathogens, then a smear will help to accurately identify and treat them. Also, swabs are taken for tonsillitis, various diseases of the ENT region. Thus, we can say that a smear is able to demonstrate the presence or absence of pathogenic bacteria in the body and accurately identify them for choosing treatment tactics.

Study Preparation

Before taking a smear from the pharynx, it is necessary to properly prepare for this process. For example, eating and brushing your teeth can reduce the concentration of bacteria at the time of microflora sampling, which will give an erroneous idea of ​​the presence of certain bacteria and the course of the disease.

Therefore, on the day of the procedure in the morning, it is better not to eat, drink and hygienic solutions at all.

Also, on the eve of the analysis, you should refuse:

• solutions or rinses with antiseptics used in the oral cavity, 2-3 days before taking the analysis;
• sprays or ointments with antibiotics or antimicrobial components for the throat 2-3 days before the smear is taken;
• chewing gum.

Solutions or sprays for the mouth and throat can kill any germs that will be in the cavity, but do not eliminate the cause of the infection. When examining a throat swab, the actual number and composition of microorganisms cannot be established, and appropriate treatment will not be prescribed.

On the eve of the study, bacteria must be allowed to multiply to the maximum so that their real number can be easily detected on the mucosa. Thus, it will be much more effective to deal with the cause of the disease.

How is the study going

To take a throat swab, the patient must open their mouth wide and tilt their head back. The patient’s tongue is pressed against the lower jaw with a spatula, and the specialist draws a special sterile cotton swab over the opened surface of the pharynx. The procedure is painless and does not cause discomfort to the patient.

With a developed gag reflex, vomiting may be disturbing. However, the short duration of the procedure and fasting the day before will help ensure the comfort of manipulation.

A cotton swab with a holder after taking is placed in a sterile container, in which special conditions are created for bacteria to ensure their viability. This is necessary in order for the microorganisms to remain active until the samples are sent to the laboratory for analysis. Here, all the collected material will be placed in certain nutrient media and, based on their growth, it will be possible to draw conclusions about which disease should be treated in the patient.

Interpretation of smear results

The results of throat swabs can be presented qualitatively if the reasons for this analysis are known. Only the appointment itself, that is, the reason that prompted the doctor to refer the patient to a smear, can determine what is more important – the amount or type of microorganism, and also predetermine further therapy.

In the form with the results of the study of smears from the throat, those microorganisms that are detected in the mucous membrane are entered. Near each Latin name of the microorganism, the numerical value of its content in the smear is also affixed. Normally, in the throat there are always such bacteria as green streptococcus, pneumococci, non-pathogenic Neisseria, epidermal staphylococci, a low concentration of Candida. And among the abnormal microorganisms that specialists can identify, one should name Candida albicans, pathogens of whooping cough, diphtheria, hemolytic streptococci of the A-group.

The most massive pathogens of possible diseases are streptococci, which cause tonsillitis, pharyngitis, pneumonia, scarlet fever and other diseases. To exclude the allergic component in a patient, the number of leukocytes and eosinophils, which are involved in the formation of allergic manifestations, is determined in smears.

Conditionally pathogenic staphylococcus bacteria can cause diseases under certain conditions, for example, when hypothermia occurs, immunity is weakened, and beriberi develops. A swab from the pharynx is also taken for their presence.

All results of the throat swab examination are transferred to the doctor who wrote out the referral to the patient for its passage. This specialist independently interprets the results, establishes a diagnosis and prescribes drug therapy.

Thus, a pharyngeal swab for the detection of pathogens helps the doctor to painlessly determine the sources of the onset of diseases, diagnose and prescribe effective treatment without resorting to heavy research methods.

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