Collect
Site wound: Anaerobic transport system.
Deep wounds or abscesses: Sterile screw-cap container.
Soft tissue aspirates: Capped syringe without needle.
Punch skin biopsy: Sterile screw-cap cup (if specimen is small, add a small amount
of sterile nonbacteriostatic 0.85% NaCl to prevent drying).
Bone: Sterile screw-cap cup (if specimen is small, add a small amount
of sterile nonbacteriostatic 0.85% NaCl to prevent drying).
Sinus aspirate: Anaerobic transport system, sterile screw-cap cup or capped syringe without needle. Biopsy material collected during endoscopy is also acceptable.
Deep Wound Specimens Collected on Swabs: Swab collection should be avoided if a tissue/biopsy or aspiration of the infected area can be performed. The specimen should be collected from a subcutaneous site. Place the swab in an appropriate transport system and send to the
laboratory.
A few drops of sterile saline may be added to the specimen to prevent the tissue or biopsy from drying out.
Preferred volume: 1-3 mL
Minimum Volume: 0.5 mL
Patient Prep
Rinse open wounds with sterile saline.
Clean closed wounds with 2% chlorhexidine or 70% alcohol followed by
iodine solution. The iodine solution should be removed before collecting the sample.
Disinfect any collection tubing before collecting drainage samples.
Unacceptable Conditions
Frozen.
Storage Transport Temp
Room temperature. Specimens should be processed within 30 - 60 minutes of collection.
Specimens may be refrigerated for up to 2 hours if there is a delay in transport to the lab.
Stability
2 Hours
Notes
A gram stain is included with each culture. Anaerobes will be screened for and, therefore, care should be taken in specimen handling to avoid undue exposure to oxygen.