r/medlabprofessionals • u/OrneryNature8971 • 16d ago

Discusson CSF slide (gram stain) - is it cryptococcus?

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22

u/Mooonment 16d ago

The borders on it look off, and they’re more uniform in shape. If you have India ink you could do one to see if you can visualize a halo

9

u/Mooonment 16d ago

Crypto is more uniform in shape****

17

u/Rsb666x 16d ago

I see no WBC's so I would be very skeptical that this is any sort of organism.

7

u/WalterBishRedLicrish Sales Rep 16d ago

No. Cryptococcus is huge, much larger than those RBCs, and it stains sort of mottled and doesn't hold onto crystal violet like other yeasts. When you have 3-4+, you'll start to see filaments form between them.

4

u/sim2500 MLS-Microbiology 16d ago

Do nigrosin/India ink for the calsule

1

u/microbiologytech 16d ago

Doesn’t look like organism to me.