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NAME
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SPECIMEN
REQUIREMENTS
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Acid Fast Culture
(and/or)
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Collect specimen in container and hold at room temperature until
courier pickup. No preservative is necessary.
Blood: 10mL for adults or 1.5 mL for children collected
aseptically and placed in SPS (Yellow) tubes.
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Acid Fast Smear
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Sputum : 5 to 10 mL of early morning expectorant from a deep
cough.
Blood : 10 mL for adults or 1.5 mL for children collected
aseptically and placed in SPS (yellow) tubes.
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Anaerobic Culture
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Be sure specimen is from suitable anaerobic sterile body site or
deep body cavity. Send a culture swab immersed in transport media
or fluid in syringe with air expelled and needle removed. Submit
promptly for optimal recovery of pathogens. Must be received
in microbiology laboratory within 24 hours of collection.
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Autoclave Ampule
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The test ampule is placed in the center of an autoclave load. It
should be submitted for testing with an unautoclaved ampule marked
as a control.
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Bacterial Antigen
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Body fluids including serum, CSF, and urine may be submitted in
a container for testing. Please specify which of the following
bacterial antigens need to be tested:
- Group B Streptococcus
- E. coli K1
- Haemophilus influenzae
- Neisseria meningitidis
- Streptococcus pneumoniae
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Blood Culture
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Ideally, 20 mL of blood is drawn and split between an aerobic
bottle and an anaerobic bottle. For pediatric draws, 1 to 2 mL
blood may be submitted in an aerobic bottle. Use the following
aseptic technique:
- Clean the blood collection site with alcohol.
- Disinfect the site with iodine and allow to dry 1 to 2
minutes.
- Clean the diaphragm of the bottles with alcohol.
- Do not touch the phlebotomy site after disinfection.
- Draw blood with a sterile syringe and needle.
- Immediately transfer 20 mL of blood to each bottle.
- Mix the bottles by inversion to prevent blood from
clotting.
- Remove iodine from the patient's arm with alcohol.
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Bordetella by PCR
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Package with instructions is available upon request. Sent to the
Texas Department of Health for processing unless otherwise
requested.
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Chlamydia DNA Probe
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Two swabs are provided for collection of specimen. The first is
used to remove mucus. The second is used for collection and is
broken off into the vial provided. It can be stored at room
temperature.
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Chlamydia Culture
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A conical centrifuge tube containing viral transport media is
provided. Use a swab to collect the specimen. It is broken off into
the tube and should be immersed in the liquid media.
Refrigerate.
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Clostridium difficile Culture
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Submit fresh stool specimen in sterile container.
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Clostridium difficile Toxin
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Submit fresh stool specimen in sterile container.
Refrigerate. Freeze if specimen will not be received in the
lab before 72 hours after collection.
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CMV
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All specimens need to be refrigerated as soon possible.
Blood: Draw 10 mL blood aseptically into heparin (green-top)
tube.
Urine: Collect random specimen in a sterile container.
Other: Submit sample in viral transport media.
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Cryptococcal Antigen
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CSF or blood may be submitted in a sterile container.
Refrigerate.
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Cryptosporidium Stain
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Submit fresh stool specimen in vial containing formalin.
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CSF Culture
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Submit CSF in sterile container. Submit immediately for
optimal recovery of pathogens.
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Fecal Leukocytes
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Submit fresh stool specimen in sterile container without
preservative.
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Fungus Culture
(skin, hair, nails)
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Submit specimens in sterile container.
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Fungus Culture Blood
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Blood specimens should be collected aseptically and submitted in
Isolator tubes. Appropriate sample size for adults is 10 mL.
Pediatric specimens of 1.5 mL are acceptable.
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Fungus Culture Other
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Submit specimens in sterile container. Swabs are acceptable but
not recommended.
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GC Culture
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A culture swab with transport media should be
submitted. it must be received in the Microbiology laboratory
within 24 hours after collection. A Jembec plate is also
acceptable. The plate is inoculated by rolling the swab on the agar
surface in a Z-pattern. A CO 2 generator capsule is then placed in
the space provided. The plate is then sealed in the provided
plastic sack.
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GC DNA Probe
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Two separate swabs are provided for collection of the specimen.
The first is used to remove mucus. The second is used for
collection and is broken off into the vial provided. It can be
stored at room temperature.
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Gram Stain
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Smear glass slide with specimen at time of collection and air
dry. Always smear slide frosted side up. Label slide in pencil on
frosted area with patient's name and source. Culture swabs and
specimens submitted in sterile containers can also be submitted for
gram stain. Alternately, a swab or liquid may be
submitted.
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Herpes Simplex Culture
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Use special collection vial and swab. After swabbing the base of
the lesion, place swab in viral transport vial. Label with the
patient name and date. Refrigerate.
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Herpes Simplex Typing
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Body fluid in a sterile container or sterile swab in viral
transport media is required. Refrigerate.
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KOH Preparation
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Skin scrapings may be submitted in a clean 50 mL screw cap
container. A swab of mucus membrane may be submitted. Do not submit
specimens crushed between two slides.
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Occult Blood Single Screen
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Hemoccult slides may be submitted. Following the directions on
the slide, one side is lifted and stool is smeared in the provided
areas.
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Occult Blood Screen x3
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Hemoccult slides may be submitted. Following the directions on
the slide, one side is lifted and stool is smeared in the provided
areas.
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Medicare Occult Blood
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Hemoccult slides may be submitted. Following the directions on
the slide, one side is lifted and stool is smeared in the provided
areas.
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Ova & Parasite
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Submit fresh stool specimen in stool preservative vials (one
formalin and one PVA vial). No more than three parasitology
specimens are recommended. Three O & P specimens will pick up
99% of parasitic pathogens.
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Pinworm Slide
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Contact Laboratory. Clear tape may be acceptable but is not
recommended. Collect first thing in the morning by gently pressing
the sticky side of the paddle against the anus. Frosted tape cannot
be used.
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Pneumocystis carinii
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Submit biopsy, sputum or bronchial washings in sterile
container.
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Rotavirus Screen
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Submit fresh stool specimen in a clean container. Sample must
not be contaminated with urine. Refrigerate.
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Routine Culture
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Fluid: Submit in Port-a-cul fluid transport or alternately
sterile tube, or syringe with needle removed. Submit immediately to
the laboratory.
Swab: Submit a culture swab in transport media. For
optimal results, it should be received in the Microbiology
laboratory within 24 hous after collection.
Tissue: Submit in a sterile container immersed in a small amount
sterile saline. Submit immediately
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RSV Screen
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Submit nasal washing collected in a sterile container.
Refrigerate.
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Sputum Culture
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Submit sputum expectorated by deep cough into a sterile
container. For optimal results, it should be received int he
Microbiology laboratory within 24 hours after colelction.
The Adequacy of Sputum Cultures:
At CPL, a gram stain is performed on all sputum cultures reporting
bacteria, epithelial cells and inflammatory cells. This information
can be used to assess the adequacy of the sputum collection. A
specimen containing greater than 10 squamous epithelial cells/low
power field suggests oropharyngeal contamination, and the gram
stain will be reported as "indictive of oropharyngeal
contamination". Gram stains exhibiting minimal oropharyngeal
contamination will be reported with the number of epithelial cells
and inflammatory cells, and the culture will follow.
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Stool Culture
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Submit fresh stool specimen uncontaminated by urine in a vial
containing Cary Blair transport media. No more than two
bacteriology specimens are recommended. Two specimens will pick up
99% of bacterial pathogens. alternately, a stool smaple in a
sterile cup-refrigerated immediately upon colelction and optimally
received in the laboratory within 2 hours, is acceptable. If
necessary, it can be refrigerated up to 24 hours before receipt in
the Microbiology laboratory.
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Streptococcus Culture -
Throat
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Submit specimen on a culture swab immersed in transport
media.
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Streptococcus B Culture -
Pregnancy
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Submit specimen on a culture swab immersed in transport
media.
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Throat Culture
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Submit specimen on a dual culture swab immersed in transport
media.
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Urine Culture
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Urine placed immediately in gray-top transport tube is
strongly preferred. Urine collected in sterile container is also
acceptable. Directions for proper collection:
1. Females should clean the periurethral area with water.
2. Males should clean the glans penis area with water.
3. Allow the initial flow of urine to commence and then collect
a midstream portion into a sterile container.
4. Store and submit sealed container refrigerated, or transfer
urine immediately to gray-top preservative tube and
store/submit refrigerated or at room temperature. Note: If
urinalysis is also ordered, an unpreserved sample should be
submitted for that test. Susceptibility testing is not routinely
performed on voided specimens with mixed urogenital flora or on
colony counts below 50,000 CFU/mL unless from a Nursing Home
patient or other special circumstance. Unpreserved
refrigerated urine must be received within 24 hours of
collection. Urine grey top tubes is acceptable up to 48 hours
after collection. Urine in blue toppped "culture" tubes is
acceptables up to 72 hours after collection.
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Vaginal Culture
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Specimens should be submitted on a culture swab immersed in
transport media. For optimal results, and to rule out
Neisseria Gonorrhoeae, it should be received in the Microbiology
laboratory within 24 hours after collection.
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Viral Culture
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Body fluid in a sterile container or sterile swab immersed in
viral transport media is required. Refrigerate.
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Wet Prep
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Place swab in 0.5 mL saline. To detect Trichomonas, specimen
should be examined as soon as possible.
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