Culture | South Florida ENT Associates

When are cultures necessary?

Your SFENTA ear, nose and throat physician may recommend a culture if your infection persists after being treated with a course of antibiotics. This is becoming a more common practice as bacteria adapts and becomes resistant to the antibiotics that are readily available. As such, the use of cultures is increasing and becoming more important.

What to expect during the culture procedure

If your doctor believes that a culture is necessary to diagnose and treat your infection, he or she will swab the discharge from the target area. Depending on the location, this can be done with direct visualization or using a thin, flexible and lighted instrument called an endoscope.

The culture procedure is pain-free and can be completed within a matter of seconds. In about three days, the results of your culture will arrive at our office with the type of bacteria causing your infection, along with a list of antibiotics that can effectively treat the problem.

Tips for preventing antibiotic resistance

Cultures are becoming more important because of the rise in antibiotic resistance.

Antibiotics are medicines that can prevent and treat bacterial infections. When the bacteria changes in response to the use of these medications, it is known as antibiotic resistance. It is a major threat to global health that is making previously common infections much more difficult to treat.

There are steps individual patients can take to prevent antibiotic resistance. They include:

Only using prescribed antibiotics
Always following your doctor’s instructions when taking antibiotic medication
Completing the full treatment course of all antibiotics
Never sharing or using leftover antibiotics

Contact Us Today

Contact SFENTA for a culture today, and let us identify the organism behind your infection and ensure that you receive the precise medication you need to restore optimal health.

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Important Information about Coronavirus (COVID-19)

South Florida ENT Associates (SFENTA) is committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of our patients, clinicians, and employees, particularly among the recent concern and outbreak of the COVID-19 virus. We are continuing to respond to the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Department of Public Health from each state, which are closely monitoring the outbreak of the COVID-19.

In-office Guidelines & Preventive Measures

Across our network, SFENTA is implementing safety precautions to help limit the spread of COVID-19 and ensure the health of our patients, employees, and visitors. These preventive measures include:

Informational flyers for posting on the outside door, patient waiting room (Click here for ES) and for call center and front office employees – all these should be placed in highly visible areas. If a patient advises the staff that they have traveled outside the country to an affected area or have been in contact with someone known to have COVID-19, please follow protocol as mentioned in the call center and front office flyer.

Patients to be limited to bringing only one visitor with them into our offices.

Procedures will not be performed on patients known or suspected to have COVID-19.

SFENTA is also working with our referring providers to request they do not send patients known or suspected of having the COVID-19 virus to any of our offices.

Patient Guidelines Regarding the Coronavirus & Flu-like Symptoms

As a current patient, if you are experiencing flu-like symptoms (i.e., cough, fever, shortness of breath, sore throat), please call your care center location and ask to speak to a staff member who can guide you with more information and treatment suggestions.

We ask that you DO NOT come into the office for any pre-scheduled appointments if you are experiencing any flu-like symptoms.

In addition, if you are not experiencing flu-like symptoms, but have traveled outside of the country in the last 14 days, contact a member of our triage staff to determine whether you should come into one of our care centers.

It is our goal to keep all of our patients healthy , reduce the spread of infection, and to make sure you have accurate information. We will continue to keep this site updated as more information becomes available.

Guidelines for You and Your Family

There is still time to get a flu shot. This is strongly suggested, as the flu season is still here and the symptoms are very similar.

Make sure to wash your hands continuously for 20 seconds and keep hands away from your face; avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.

Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

Stay home if you are sick!

Always cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.

Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces in your home using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.

Please note that the overall immediate health risk from the coronavirus is still considered low. People in areas where ongoing community spread of the virus has been reported are at elevated, though still relatively low, risk of exposure.

However, healthcare workers caring for patients with the COVID-19 and others in close contact with infected persons are at a greater risk of exposure. Travelers returning from affected international locations where community spread is occurring are also at elevated risk of exposure.

The CDC believes the virus may appear between 2-14 days after exposure. There is no vaccine and treatment is supportive. The virus is spread person to person mainly by respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. This is similar to other respiratory pathogens like influenza.

Together, South Florida ENT Associates will continue monitoring and preparing to meet the current challenge in order to ensure our staff and patients receive the same quality of care they deserve. We are committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of our patients, clinicians, and employees

Additional Information and Resources

The CDC believes the virus symptoms may appear between 2-14 days after exposure. There is no vaccine and treatment is supportive. The virus is spread person to person mainly by respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. This is similar to other respiratory pathogens like influenza.