Practical Laboratory Aspects of Cystic Fibrosis Microbiology: an Update, Part II

Cystic fibrosis (CF) microbiology occupies a unique niche in the clinical microbiology laboratory. It is notable for the diversity of potential pathogens, the labor-intensive nature of culture evaluation, and the complexity of organism identification and susceptibility testing. This article provides an update of the major CF pathogens and offers a practical laboratory guide which addresses some of the issues encountered with these cultures. Part I of this two-part article reviewed the new and most current information gathered from the literature since 2006 with respect to Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Burkholderia cepacia complex, and other glucose-non-fermenting gram-negative rods. Part II of this article completes this review of the key organisms associated with CF infections, including Staphylococcus aureus, non-tuberculous mycobacteria, and fungi. Issues regarding susceptibility testing are also addressed. Finally, a practical laboratory guide is provided to address some of the confounding issues associated with CF microbiology.