Quick Review Cards for Medical Laboratory Science

Specimen Collection Guidelines Clinical Microbiology Review 142

• Obtain during acute phase of infection (within 2–3 days
  for viruses).


• Collect before antibiotics are administered.


• Sample appropriate site.


• Aspirates or tissues are preferred to swabs.


• Use swabs with Dacron or polyester tips & plastic
  shafts. Wood, cotton, & calcium alginate may be
  toxic.


• For anaerobes, aspirates preferred to swabs.


• Avoid contamination with environmental or normal
  flora.
  
  
  • Obtain sufficient quantity.
  
  
  • Use sterile, leak-proof container.
  
  
  • Properly label container, not lid.
  
  
  • Transport in secondary container (plastic bag) marked
    with biohazard symbol.
  
  
  • Protect requisition from contamination.
  
  
  • Syringes with needles attached should never be
    transported.
  
  
  • Deliver to lab within 30 min of collection.
  
  
  • For prolonged transit, use special preservatives or
    holding media.