A 2-year-old child has a fever, stiff neck, and is irritable. Gram stain smear of spinal fluid reveals gram-negative, small pleomorphic coccobacillary organisms. What is the most appropriate procedure to follow in order to reach an etiological diagnosis?
Culture the spinal fluid in chocolate agar, and identify the organism by growth factors Culture the spinal fluid in mannitol-salt agar Perform a catalase test of the isolated organism Perform a coagulase test with the isolate