Specimen Collection Lab 4 Specimen collection Why specimen

Specimen Collection Lab 4

Specimen collection • Why specimen collection is important in microbiology?

Containers and swab for the collection of specimens • Containers : Ø for faeces: - Universal container Spoon attached to the inside of the screw cap

Ø For urine: - Universal container for small quantities. - For larger quantities 250 ml wide mouthed screw-capped bottles are convenient. Ø For sputum: - Universal container should not be used, wide mouthed disposable containers should be used

Ø For blood: - Without anticoagulant for serological examination. - With EDTA for parasitological examination. ü Blood culture bottle - This must be at least large enough to hold 50 ml of liquid medium, with which it is issued from laboratory, plus 5 -10 ml of patient’s blood.

Ø Syringe and needle for aspiration - Wound pus - CSF - Pleural effusion - Amniotic fluid - Synovial fluid

Ø Swabs: Swabs are suitable for taking specimens for exudates from the throat, nose, ear, skin, wounds and other accessible lesions. v Swabs for special purpose: ü Baby swabs ü Pre-nasal swabs ü Post-nasal swabs ü Laryngeal swabs ü High vaginal and cervical swabs

Specimen collection guidelines • Time of collection 1. During the acute phase 2. Before antimicrobial therapy 3. Time of the day (1 st morning) • Contamination - Normal flora • Specimen containers - sterile, leak proof

Labeling specimen • Each sample must have a label attached to the specimen container bearing the following information: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Patient’s name Type of specimen Collection date and time Test requested Name of ordering physician

Specimen transport • Many microorganisms are susceptible to environmental conditions, thus use of special preservative or holding media or transport of specimens delay for more than 2 hrs is important to ensure organism’s viability. - Keep organism viable without encouraging growth. examples 1. Stuart’s medium 2. Cary- Blair medium

• Specimens should be tightly sealed and transported in sealable, leak proof plastic bags. • Specimen transport bag

Specimen rejection criteria • Unlabeled or improperly labeled specimen • Mismatch information • Improper container (non sterile) or medium (anaerobic bacteria in aerobic medium) • Improper temperature • Insufficient specimen quantity • Leaking container • Dried out swab • Late specimen ( more than 2 hrs and not preserved) Physician must be informed about rejection