Patients are instructed to collect sputum specimens in such a way as to minimize contamination with normal microbiota from the mouth.A sputum specimen has arrived in the clinical laboratory and a Gram-stained smear of the specimen reveals a mixture of Gram-positive cocci,Gram-negative cocci,and Gram-positive bacilli as well as numerous squamous epithelial cells.This result indicates

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The presence of numerous squamous epithelial cells in the Gram-stained smear indicates that the specimen is primarily saliva and oropharyngeal microbiota. The mixture of different types of bacteria is likely due to contamination from the normal oral microbiota. Therefore, this specimen is of poor quality and not representative of true sputum.

Patients Are Instructed to Collect Sputum Specimens in Such a Way