Specimen Requirements

Specimen must arrive within 2 hours of collection.

Expectorated sputum should be collected in early-morning.
1. Patient should rinse or gargle with water.
2. Patient is to be instructed to cough deeply.
Note:  Sputum for routine culture is evaluated by Gram stain for a predominance of oropharyngeal contamination. Specimens that are determined to be primarily oropharyngeal secretions will not be processed for routine culture.
3. Collect specimen in a sterile, leakproof container. At least 1 mL of specimen is required for routine and fungus cultures. A minimum of 5 mL of specimen is required for AFB culture. Post-bronchoscopy sputum should be submitted regardless of volume.
4. Label container with patient’s information, date and actual time of collection, and type of specimen.

5. Forward specimen promptly.

Note:  1. Maximum storage of specimen is 24 hours refrigerated. Overnight refrigeration of specimen is not recommended since some of the fastidious organisms that can cause these infections may become non-viable (this will be noted in the report).

2. Specimens will not be processed if transport/storage requirements are exceeded.