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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffYour doctor may order lab work or imaging scans to help determine what's causing your symptoms.
Laboratory tests
Many infectious diseases have similar signs and symptoms. Samples of your body fluids can sometimes reveal evidence of the particular microbe that's causing your illness. This helps your doctor tailor your treatment.
- Blood tests. A technician obtains a sample of your blood by inserting a needle into a vein in your arm or hand. This test may be slightly uncomfortable for some people, but usually takes only a few minutes.
- Urine tests. This painless test requires you to urinate into a container. To avoid potential contamination of the sample, you may be instructed to cleanse your genital area with an antiseptic pad and to collect the urine midstream.
- Throat swabs. Samples from your throat, or other moist areas of your body, often are obtained with a sterile swab.
- Spinal tap (lumbar puncture). This procedure obtains a sample of your cerebrospinal fluid through a needle carefully inserted between the bones of your spine. In most cases, you'll be asked to lie on your side with your knees pulled up toward your chest. This test can be uncomfortable and you might develop a headache afterward.
Imaging scans
Imaging procedures — such as X-rays, computerized tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) — can help pinpoint diagnoses and rule out other conditions that may be causing your symptoms.
- X-rays. This painless procedure exposes a part of your body to a small dose of radiation to produce an image of the structures inside your body. A chest X-ray, for example, can reveal signs of pneumonia.
- Computerized tomography (CT). CT scans digitally combine X-rays taken from many different angles to produce cross-sectional images of bones, organs and other soft tissues. CT images reveal more details than do regular X-rays.
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI uses radio waves and a strong magnetic field to produce detailed images of internal structures. This test involves lying on a narrow table that slides into a tunnel within the MRI machine. Some people find the enclosed space claustrophobic, but medications can help you relax and can make the MRI experience easier.
Biopsies
During a biopsy, a tiny sample of tissue is taken from an internal organ for testing. For example, a biopsy of lung tissue can be checked for a variety of fungi that can cause a type of pneumonia.
- Understanding microbes in sickness and in health. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/microbes/documents/microbesbook.pdf. Accessed June 3, 2011.
- Facts about infectious diseases. Infectious Diseases Society of America. http://www.idsociety.org/factsaboutid.html. Accessed June 3, 2011.
- Routes of transmission. In: Mandell GL, et al. Mandell, Douglas and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/page.do?sid=1166387393&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06839-3..00013-8--s0105&isbn=978-0-443-06839-3&uniqId=254689631-5#4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06839-3..00013-8--s0105. Accessed June 3, 2011.
- Anti-infective therapy. In: Mandell GL, et al. Mandell, Douglas and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/page.do?eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06839-3..00018-7&isbn=978-0-443-06839-3&uniqId=254689631-5#4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06839-3..X0001-X--s40. Accessed June 3, 2011.
- Infectious disease report. World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/infectious-disease-report/pages/ch1text.html. Accessed June 3, 2011.
- An ounce of prevention keeps the germs away. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ounceofprevention/docs/oop_brochure_eng.pdf. Accessed June 3, 2011.
- Johnson KS, et al. Lumbar puncture: Technique; indications; contraindications; and complications in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 2, 2011.
- Oehler RL, et al. "Down boy!" Infectious diseases spread by cats and dogs. Infectious Diseases in Clinical Practice. 2009;17:298.
- Curtis V, et al. Hygiene: New hopes, new horizons. The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2011;11:312.
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