Sputum Culture

Test Name	Sputum Culture
Alternate Name(s)
Laboratory Module	Microbiology
Ordering Mnemonic	SPUTUM
Specimen Type	Sputum expectorated Endotracheal Suction Endotracheal Tube Sputum Aerosole Induced Sputum Suction Tracheal Aspirate Transtracheal Aspirate
Collection Container	Sterile Container
Container Information	Sterile Container
Collection Information	Collect an early morning specimen from a deep productive cough. Instruct the patient not to expectorate saliva or postnasal discharge. Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water. Remove the lid from the plastic sterile collection container , without touching the inside of the container or lid. Take a very deep breath and hold the air for 5 seconds. slowly breath out. Take another deep breath and cough hard until some sputum comes up into your mouth. Spit sputum from deep cough directly into the container Repeat until about nearly 5.0mL of sputum has been collected. Do not spit saliva or nasal /sinus discharge into container. Close lid tightly ,ensuring that it is not leaking. Place container in the the biohazard bag and seal the bag. Wash hands thoroughly again. If the specimen has a large number of epithelial cells (found in saliva), it will not be cultured as this indicates excessive oropharyngeal contamination. The specimen will be rejected and a new specimen will be requested.
Test Schedule	Daily
Routine Turnaround Time	Preliminary: 24 hours Final: 72 hours
Stat Turnaround Time	Preliminary: 24 hours Final: 72 hours
Critical Values	As growth is detected and identified the information is made available to the health care provider.
Lab Process Notes
Storage and Transport	Specimen should be transported to the laboratory ASAP after collection in biohazard bag. Specimen should be stored at 2-8ºC after receipt in the laboratory. Storage at room temperature can interfere with bacterial counts, rendering the specimen invalid.
Test Referred To	On site, BGH laboratory

STAFF LAB TESTING INFO