Page 199 - pathology_services_handbook_5th_edition_2018

3.0 SPECIMEN COLLECTION AND HANDLING

3.1 General guidelines

a. The quality of laboratory results depends greatly on the proper collection
and handling of the specimen as well as obtaining satisfactory material for MICROBIOLOGY
examination.
b. The clinical specimen must be material from the actual infection site and must
be collected with minimum contamination from adjacent tissues, organs or
secretions.
c. A sufficient quantity of specimen must be obtained in order to perform the
examination required.
d. Appropriate collection devices, specimen containers and culture media must be
used to ensure optimal recovery of microorganisms.
e. Ideally, the specimen must be collected before the commencement of antibiotic
therapy.
f. The specimen container must be properly labelled, placed in a biohazard plastic
bag and accompanied by a completed laboratory request form.
g. Specimens are best transported immediately to the laboratory.

4.0 REJECTION CRITERIA

Requests which do not fulfill the laboratory reuirement will be rejected. Apart from
general rejection criteria used (page 10), there are specific rejection criteria for
microbiology laboratory which are:

1. Incorrect ratio of urine and boric acid (urine volume too little, <20 ml).
2. Sample not suitable for testing - saliva send for sputum culture and formed stool
send for rotavirus and Clostridium difficile antigen and toxin detection.
3. Tissue for culture send in formalin.
4. Wrong container - adult blood culture in paediatric blood bottle and body fluid
other than urine send in boric acid container.
5. Two or three sputum AFB samples taken at the same time.
6. BFMP smear too thin or too thick.
7. BFMP smear dislodged during staining.
8. Swab send without VTM for influenza and MERS-CoV testing.
9. Sample for influenza and MERS-CoV test send without ice.

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