11 Year old child presented with sore throat since 3 days, which medium is used to culture the throat swab –
**Core Concept**
The medium used for culturing throat swabs from patients presenting with sore throat is typically a selective or enriched medium that promotes the growth of the causative agent, usually a bacterium, while inhibiting the growth of other microorganisms.
**Why the Correct Answer is Right**
Throat swabs are usually cultured on a medium called Thayer-Martin agar, which is selective for Neisseria gonorrhoeae. However, for a sore throat in an 11-year-old child, the most common causative agent is likely to be a bacterium such as Streptococcus pyogenes or Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus (GABHS). In this case, the medium of choice is likely to be a blood agar plate or a selective medium like Bactracin disk test or Strep B test (which detects the presence of the enzyme streptodornase).
**Why Each Wrong Option is Incorrect**
**Option A:** - Typically used for culturing fungi.
**Option B:** - Used for culturing Campylobacter species.
**Option C:** - Used for culturing Vibrio species.
**Clinical Pearl / High-Yield Fact**
When culturing throat swabs, it's essential to note that the choice of medium depends on the suspected causative agent and the clinical presentation of the patient. A blood agar plate is a good starting point for most cases of sore throat, but selective media may be used if the clinical suspicion is high for a specific pathogen.
**Correct Answer: D. Blood agar plate.**