Specimen Requirements

Unacceptable Specimens: Drainage sites or pus (order wound culture), urine (order urine culture)

Specimen source is required.

Specimen must arrive in laboratory within 24 hours of collection.

Preferred

Specimen Type: Body fluid

Container/Tube: Sterile container or syringe

Specimen Volume: 1 mL

Specimen Minimum Volume: 0.5 mL

Collection Instructions:

1. If transport in syringe, the needle must be removed prior to transport to laboratory.

2. Label container/syringe with patient’s name (first and last), medical record number or date of birth, specimen source, and date and time of collection.

3. As with other cultures, administration of antibiotics prior to culture may make recovery of pathogens difficult to impossible.

4. Rejection criteria include delayed transport of >24 hours at ambient temperature, unsterile container, syringe with needle attached, or specimen in EDTA tube.

Alternate

Specimen Type: Swab

Container/Tube: Culture transport swab in sterile culture transport tube

Specimen Volume: Swab
Collection Instructions:

1. Label tube with patient’s name (first and last), medical record number or date of birth, specimen source, and date and time of collection.

2. As with other cultures, administration of antibiotics prior to culture may make recovery of pathogens difficult to impossible.

3. Rejection criteria include delayed transport of >24 hours at ambient temperature, unsterile container, syringe with needle attached, or specimen in EDTA tube.

Additional Information: Swab specimen is not recommended unless it’s the only available method.