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2025 CPT code 87081

Culture of a specimen for presumptive identification of a specific pathogenic organism; screening only.

Follow all current CPT coding guidelines, specifically those concerning microbiology cultures and presumptive vs. definitive identification.

Modifiers 59 (distinct procedural service) and 91 (repeat test performed on the same day) may apply based on the circumstances of service.

Medical necessity for this test is established when a clinician suspects a specific bacterial infection based on the patient's clinical presentation and requires a laboratory test to confirm or rule out the presence of that specific pathogen. The use of a selective medium targets a specific organism, improving the specificity and sensitivity of the diagnosis.

The clinical responsibility lies with the laboratory analyst who performs the technical aspects of the culture procedure. This includes preparing the specimen, inoculating the selective medium, incubating under appropriate conditions, and interpreting the results based on the growth or lack of growth of colonies.

IMPORTANT Code 87084 may be used if quantification of colony growth is also required. Codes 87140-87158 should be used additionally if molecular or other advanced techniques are employed for definitive identification.Code 87999 may apply for microbiology procedures not otherwise listed.

In simple words: The lab tests a sample to see if a specific germ is present.They use a special dish that only lets that germ grow, so if it grows, the germ is there. If not, it's not there. This test only tells you if the germ is present, not how much.

This CPT code 87081 represents the performance of a culture on a patient specimen using a selective medium designed to cultivate the growth of a specific pathogenic organism. The procedure involves inoculating the specimen onto the selective medium and incubating it under controlled conditions to observe for the growth of colonies.This is a screening test, providing a positive or negative result for the presence of the target organism, without quantifying the colony growth.The identification is presumptive, based on colony morphology, growth characteristics on selective media, and possibly up to three additional simple tests (e.g., catalase, oxidase, indole, urease). Definitive identification would require further testing (and additional coding).

Example 1: A patient presents with symptoms suggestive of a *Vibrio* infection. A stool specimen is collected and cultured using a selective medium for *Vibrio* species. Code 87081 is used to report the presumptive screening culture., A throat swab is obtained from a patient with suspected streptococcal pharyngitis.The swab is cultured on a selective medium for group A streptococci. Code 87081 is reported for this presumptive screening test., A urine sample is collected from a patient with suspected *Legionella* pneumonia. A culture on a selective medium for *Legionella* is performed. The absence of growth allows the exclusion of *Legionella* infection and is reported using 87081.

The following documentation is required:* Patient demographics and unique identifier.* Date and time of specimen collection.* Specimen type and source.* Specific organism targeted for culture.* Type of selective medium utilized.* Incubation conditions.* Date and time of culture result interpretation.* Report indicating positive or negative result for the specific organism.

** This code should not be used in conjunction with molecular diagnostic codes (e.g., 81161, 81200-81408) unless those additional tests are performed.

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