“Microbiology is not such that I put the tube into the device and get the result,” explains the head of this specialty in the mouth, Gregoria Megías, in the middle of the laboratory that health depends on – and sometimes life – and sometimes vineyards and virus, as well as virus and virus and virus. So the first thing is to know which pathogen causes disease and how the human body reacts to this microorganism. Only with the connection of these two factors can indicate the most effective treatment, prevent the formation of resistance to antibiotics and at the same time perform epidemiological supervision and control of possible outbreaks. Keep these four pillars, ten doctors, 25 technicians and three administrative assistants; A team that will include its first resident doctor in May.
This unit jumped to fame with the pandemic, but the famous PCR tests (abbreviation for the technique of “chain polymerase reaction”), “which seems to be new from Covid”, has been used for decades for decades to diagnose viral infections. And if they reached 800 daily samples of this type in the first wave to detect positive in SARS-COV-2, they now make “between 40 and 50”; The same thing that is needed to confirm the flu because pathology is verified at the same time.
COVID is already in the laboratory that processed 522 samples every day, which meant the implementation of 1,232 different techniques; This is an increase of 30% and 18%, respectively compared to the same month of 2024. The balance of last year was 122,315 samples and 351,265 techniques, “which is important,” MEGIAS excels and added that “we are an axis that connects the hospital with primary care and public health”.
Gregoria Megías is the head of the Microbiology Service of the University Hospital in Burgos. – Photo: Patricia
These hundreds of thousands of samples and techniques are used to name and surname of respiratory infections, but also for gastrointestinal, urine, sexually transmission and genitalia (in full swing, with an increase of 40%), intraabdominal, leather and soft parts or blood). In addition, add a study of mycobacteria (causing tuberculosis, but not only) to prevent them from spreading and epidemiological supervision in general. «We are devoted to direct diagnosis of infectious diseases because we detect which microorganisms cause them, but also indirect diagnosis because we do serology; This means that we study the body’s reaction during infection, ”says Megías.
Now all this is not useful if the sample does not collect well and contaminated – “This is the most important thing about microbiology” – or if it does not correctly concern the patient to whom he corresponds. «We do not process anything that would not come with a name, medical history or date of birth; If not, we refuse it, ”says the boss.
From Covid is a microbiologist on guard and is able to treat serious infections as soon as possible
Sputum is manually processed in the cabins of biological security. – Photo: Patricia
From there, the gear starts, which begins with the acceptance of everything they should analyze: urine, exudates, sputum, feces … As soon as it is registered, everything happens in the field of “planting”. This means that in a room chaired by a team – which was a pioneer in Castilla Y León when the mouth was open – that automates this process in which the growth of microorganisms is improved and then incubated for 24 hours and determine which microbe prevails. Only in respiratory samples is the process still manual because they generate aerosols and should be grown in the cabin of biological safety (and in the case of suspected tuberculosis in another and isolated room). “Until we have pushed for 24 hours, we can’t say anything,” says Megías, explaining that they also apply quick techniques so that a doctor requesting a study has as soon as possible and can start treatment. «We have a very close relationship with clinical doctors; This is necessary, ”he says, before he emphasizes that they mainly work with« ICU, area (a unit of intensive care anesthesia), pneumology, pediatric, general surgery, plastic, vascular … ».
Once the germ has been sown (except for viruses and parasites that are not grown) and incubated, the physician examines plates and studies serology; This means that it faces pathogen several medicines and analyzes its efficiency. “The microorganism is throughout the plaque, but if it does not grow next to the antibiotics, it is sensitive and kicked,” explains Megías and other specialists and emphasize that all of this is stated in his report.
If there is doubt about which pathogen causes infection, they have equipment that, through mass-grasi-you, suggests, in just six minutes of what it is. “You can consult about 16 microorganisms at the same time, and the team creates a kind of blasting in which it divides and separates bacteria in its proteins to get a profile,” says Megias, pointing out that all microbiology is now very automated, but always in coexistence with manual techniques.
The doctor examines whether there are parasites in stool samples. – Photo: Patricia
The big change that introduced Covid in this service is that they have started to produce guards: now there is always a microbiologist in the hospital to analyze and diagnose. And dynamics are changing during the continued attention, because we have to shorten the times and thus the technique that the pandemic popularized: PCR. “We use it mostly in urgency, for diagnoses that must be very fast, such as meningitis, sepsis or resistant bacteria,” he says, pointing to “between 45 minutes and an hour.”
Sequencing. The integration of the new technology is constant in a unit that has jumped. This team made it possible to climb the Hungal Microbiology in the National Antibiotic Resistance Plan, by becoming an intermediate laboratory between Castilla Y León – along with the Hortega, Valladolid – and Madrid in a molecular study on Aranda and Miranda She washed, and forcred, and forcred, and forcibly, and forcibly, and forcibly, and I couldcile, and Tovila, Ákular, and Madrid. Segovia. “We create a sequence (the genomic of each germ), analyze it and climb it to the platform to unify and establish clonal relations between hospitals,” explains Megías, explaining that you can know how these pathogens move from one to another.
The circle was closed with sequencing because Burgos has the ability to teach everything a microbiologist needs to know today. «Accreditation as a teaching unit is important because we start training specialists in May. And hopefully they will stay, ”Megías jokes and emphasize that his goal is to make routine techniques sequencing, and this will require more personal.
Mir medical training was a personal and professional goal of Megías, who believes that the unit will achieve ISO 9001 quality certification in March.
(Tagstotranslate) infection
