Table of Contents

Preface

How to Use This Book

Section I Communicating Laboratory Needs

Basic Issues

Selecting a Representative Specimen

Requisitions

Specimen Packaging and Transport

Color-Coded Vacuum Tubes

Catheters Often Used in Medical Procedures

Specimen Priority

Specimen Rejection Criteria

Rejection Statements of Addenda to Laboratory Reports

Specialty Testing

Environmental Samples

Hand Wash Specimens

Laboratory Reports

Section II Specimen Management Policies and Rationale

Collection Times

Collection Procedures

Specimen Transport

Specimen Processing: General

Specimen Processing: Molecular

Lower Respiratory Tract Specimens

Urine Specimens

Wound Specimens

Spinal Fluid Specimens

Throat and Nasopharyngeal Specimens

Vaginal and Endometrial Specimens

Miscellaneous Specimens

Section III Specimen Collection and Processing

Body Fluid Specimens

Abdominal-Peritoneal Fluid (Paracentesis, Ascites)

Blood Specimens

Cerebrospinal Fluid

Pleural-Thoracentesis Fluid

Gastrointestinal Specimens

Duodenal Contents

Gastric Contents

Pinworm Eggs Collected by Adhesive Tape Preparation

Rectal and Anal Swab Specimens

Sigmoidoscopy Specimens for Amebiasis

Stool or Feces for Culture or Parasitology Studies

Stool Specimen Collection Directions

Genital Specimens

General Information

Cervical or Endocervical Specimens

Genital Smears for Herpes

Urethral and Penile Specimens

Respiratory Specimens

General Information

Bronchoscopy-Bronchial Washing

Nasal Specimens

Nasopharyngeal Specimens

Sputum

Tracheal Aspirate

Transtracheal Aspirate

Throat Specimens

Urine Specimens

General Information

Urine from Catheters

Clean-Catch Urine

Cytoscopic Specimens: Bilateral Urethral Catheterization

Suprapubic Aspirate for Urine Cultures

Urine Specimens: Bladder Washout

Urine Specimens: Ileal Conduit

Viruses, Chlamydiae, Rickettsiae, and Fungi

Chlamydia Culture

Specimens for Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma spp.

Fungal Specimens

Rickettsial Specimens

Viral Specimens

Wound Specimens

General Information

Ear (Otitis Media) Specimens

Eye Specimens

Skin and Contiguous Tissue Specimens

Section IV Specimen Management Summary Tables

Bacteriology and Mycology Specimen Collection Guidelines

Specimen Management for Infrequently Encountered Organisms

Specimen Guide for Virus Isolation

Virology Specimen Collection Guidelines

Parasitology: Anatomic Sites Containing Diagnostic Stages

Parasitology Specimen Collection Guidelines

References

Index