Swab Cultures of Wounds Taken in OR, DSU, or Directly During Surgical Procedures
POWERCHART ORDER – Wound Culture- Surgical
Useful For
Swab Cultures of Wounds Taken in OR, DSU or Directly During Surgical Procedures
While internal body cavities and joint capsules are normally sterile, infectious organisms can be introduced from adjacent “dirty” areas due to trauma or infectious processes originating in those areas due to the surgical procedure itself.
In most instances, tissue or aspirated material taken from the surgical site, is the optimal specimen for the isolation of infecting organisms. (Order Tissue or Aspirate Cultures for Tissue and Aspirate specimens)
Swabs, while easier to collect, often pick up contaminating skin flora or colonizing organisms, yielding misleading information of limited clinical value. For this reason, culture workup is curtailed on swab specimens demonstrating significant numbers of epithelial cells or mixed organism populations on direct smear or culture.
Method Name
Culture
Aliases
Surgical,culture,wound Culture - Surgical,wound Culture Surgical,wound
Specimen Type
- E-Swab
- Culturette
Specimen Required
- Culturette or E-swabs for gram stain and aerobic culture.
- Collect Starswab or ACT tube for anaerobic culture. (Order separate Anaerobic Culture)
- For OR specimens, if difficult to obtain, one swab in the A.C.T. or StarSwab can be used for both the Wound Culture -Surgical and the Anaerobic culture (separate order).
- Swabs of surgical wound, internal body cavities or fluids, para nasal sinuses, abscess material, or surgically delivered placenta are acceptable.
Specimen Minimum Volume
1 swab for each exam desired
Specimen Stability Information
Transport at room temperature.
Culturette, E-swab and Starswab or ACT tube are stable for 48 hours after collection.
The Starswab or ACT tube medium must remain clear below the surface.
If the medium turns blue, it indicates oxygen saturation and the specimen is not acceptable for anaerobic culture.
Rejected Due To
Not transported at room temperature.
Culturette, E-swab and Starswab or ACT tube received longer than 48 hours after collection.
The Starswab or ACT tube medium turns blue below the surface.
If the medium turns blue, it indicates oxygen saturation and the specimen is not acceptable for anaerobic culture.
Special Instructions
- Specimens must be labeled with the complete source and body site information.
- This test includes direct smear (gram stain) and anaerobic culture (ordered separately)if specimen is received in anaerobic transport (Starswab or ACT tube).
- Susceptibility testing is performed when appropriate for the isolates recovered.
- NOTE: While swabs may be easily collected, they are not the specimen of choice for bacterial culture. Tissue, biopsies or fluid aspirations yield much higher recovery of pathogenic organisms with much less cutaneous contamination.
Performing Laboratory
Glens Falls Hospital Microbiology Laboratory
Day(s) and Time(s) Performed
- Day shift
- 7 days a week
Analytical Time
Up to 5 days
Specimen Retention Time
72 hours
Analytical Time
Up to 5 days