实验室检查可直接对微生物进行检测（如：肉眼观察、显微镜观察、病原体培养）或者间接对微生物进行检测（如抗体检测）。一般的检测手段包括
免疫学试验（凝集反应试验如乳胶凝集试验、酶免疫测定、蛋白印迹法、沉淀试验、补体结合试验）
培养通常是明确微生物的金标准，但是结果可能要在数天或数周后才能得到，并且不是所有的病原体都可以通过培养得到，因此可以选择其他有参考价值的试验。当一种病原体得到培养及鉴定后，实验室就可以评估其对抗微生物药物的敏感性。有时也可以用分子生物学的方法来检测特定的耐药基因。
一些试验（如革兰染色，常规的需氧培养）可以检出多种病原体，并且通常在许多可疑的感染性疾病的诊断中被使用。然而由于通过这些试验可能使得一些病原体被遗漏，因此临床医生必须知道对每种可疑病原体检测所用的每个试验的局限性。 当出现可能被遗漏的情况时，医生需要对怀疑的病原体进行特异性的检测（如特异染色或特异培养基）或建议实验室对可疑的微生物进行鉴定，使之可以选择更多有针对性的试验进行检测。
一些细菌病原体的诊断测试
微生物 | 显微镜检查 | 细菌培养 | NAAT | 抗原检测 | 抗体检测 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Bordetella pertussis百日咳杆菌 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
✓* | ✓* | ✓ | |||
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
✓ | ✓ | ||||
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
✓ | ✓ | ||||
✓ | |||||
✓ | ✓ | ||||
✓ | ✓ | ||||
Francisella tularensis兔拉弗朗西丝菌 | ✓ | ✓ | |||
✓ | ✓ | ||||
✓ | ✓* | ✓ | |||
✓* | ✓ | ✓ | |||
✓ | ✓ | ||||
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
✓* | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Listeria李斯特菌属 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
✓ | ✓ | ||||
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Nocardia奴卡菌 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
马红球菌 | ✓ | ✓ | |||
立克次体种 | ✓ | ✓ | |||
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Treponema pallidum梅毒螺旋体 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
✓ | ✓ | ||||
✓ | ✓ | ||||
Yersinia pestis鼠疫耶尔森菌 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Adapted from Bennett JE, Dolin R, Blaser MJ: Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases, 9th Edition.Elsevier, 2020. | |||||
* 临床实践中未广泛使用的测试。 | |||||
NAAT = 核酸扩增试验 | |||||
一些真菌病原体的诊断测试
微生物 | 显微镜检查 | 细菌培养 | NAAT | 抗原检测 | 抗体检测 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
✓ | ✓ | ||||
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
✓ | ✓ | ||||
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Adapted from Bennett JE, Dolin R, Blaser MJ: Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases, 9th Edition.Elsevier, 2020. | |||||
NAAT = 核酸扩增试验 | |||||
一些病毒病原体的诊断测试
微生物 | 显微镜检查 | 细菌培养 | NAAT | 抗原检测 | 抗体检测 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
✓* | ✓ | ✓ | |||
BK病毒 | ✓ | ✓ | |||
✓ | ✓ | ||||
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
✓ | ✓ | ||||
肝炎 A、B、C、D 和 Exing | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
✓ | ✓ | ||||
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
✓ | ✓ | ||||
流感病毒 | ✓ | ✓ | |||
✓ | ✓ | ||||
曲棍球病毒 | ✓ | ✓ | |||
✓ | ✓ | ||||
✓ | ✓ | ||||
✓ | ✓ | ||||
✓ | ✓ | ||||
✓ | ✓ | ||||
✓ | ✓ | ||||
✓ | ✓ | ||||
✓ | ✓ | ||||
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
呼吸道合胞病毒 （RSV） | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
✓ | |||||
圣路易脑炎病毒 | ✓ | ✓ | |||
蜱传脑炎病毒 | ✓ | ||||
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
✓ | ✓ | ||||
✓ | ✓ | ||||
Adapted from Bennett JE, Dolin R, Blaser MJ: Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases, 9th Edition.Elsevier, 2020. | |||||
* 临床实践中未广泛使用的测试。 | |||||
NAAT = 核酸扩增试验 | |||||
一些原生动物和寄生虫病原体的诊断试验
