The Microbiology Laboratory is a section of the Division of Clinical Pathology in the Department of Pathology at the University Medical Center. This laboratory is accredited by the College of American Pathologists, therefore, policies and procedures are written in accordance with those standards.
Location and Telephone Numbers: The Microbiology Laboratory is located on the first floor of the hospital, room S102. The telephone numbers pertinent to this area are listed below.
- Microbiology Section ............................................................................................... Ext. 42358
- John P. Coleman, D.O., Ph.D., Director, ............................................................... Ext. 42355
- Nancy Deschamp, B.S., MT(ASCP) (NCA), MT Supervisor, Microbiology .... Ext. 42358
Hours of Operation: Microbiology is staffed from 7:30 am until 12 midnight, seven days a week. For special requests after 12 midnight, call evening Stat lab supervisor or the pathology resident on call. All specimens sent to the lab after hours are properly stored and processed the following morning.
Consultations: Contact John Coleman, D.O., Ph.D., extension 42355. Pathology staff and residents are available 24 hours day. See current monthly call schedule for after hours, weekends, and holidays.
Emergency Requests: Microbiology: Gram stains may be ordered stat; results are called back as soon as possible.
Collection of Specimens: All specimens must be collected in sterile tightly sealed containers and delivered promptly to the microbiology laboratory. Leaking containers or containers with gross specimen contamination on the outside are not acceptable. Refer to specific source collection procedures in this handbook for detailed instructions.
Reference Section: Notice to all outreach facilities: The proper preservation of specimens is critical to accurate measurement. If your facility (by virtue of its location) will be sending specimens to UMC for arrival in excess of the time defined in the Laboratory Handbook for processing, you will need to prepare and store the specimen in a different manner and contact the specific lab for special instructions. For the Microbiology section the following are the most common tests in this lab requiring special preparation and preservation when there is a delay arriving in the UMC main laboratory.
- Urine Culture - place in sterile cup or B-D storage tube refrigerate and deliver promptly
- Miscellaneous or Wound Culture - 2 wet swabs (ampule crushed). Do Not Refrigerate.
- Sputum - Sterile cup. Refrigerate if delivery is delayed more than 2 hours.
- Feces culture – Place feces in transport media. Refrigerate and deliver promptly.
- Blood Culture – Draw blood sets and deliver promptly. Do not refrigerate.
Notes:
- Blood culture sets consist of an aerobic and an anaerobic bottle (except pediatrics aerobic only). The adult aerobic bottle is a high volume bottle and should be inoculated with 8 - 10 mL of blood (10 mL optimal); anaerobic bottle 5-7 ml; pediatric bottle 1-3 ml. Perform a standard venipunture, use the butterfly collection set with a holder attached to draw 8 – 10 ml of blood (10mL optimal) aerobic bottle; anaerobic bottle 5 – 7 ml from the venipucture site. Note: Aerobic bottle must be collected before anaerobic bottle. If using a standard syringe using the same volume of blood inoculate the anaerobic before the aerobic bottle.
- Sputum samples should be early morning deep cough. Patient should receive precise collection instructions. Specimens are screened for saliva contamination and the floor is notified if the specimen is inadequate for culture. Multiple collections should be collected on consecutive days.
- Stool specimens are cultured routinely for Campylobacter (except formed specimens), Salmonella and Shigella, Yersinia and E. coli 0157.
- Urine samples should be clean catch mid-stream.
- Miscellaneous or Wound specimens are collected on culturette swabs. Two swabs should be collected; one for culture and one for gram stain. If only one swab is received, only the culture is performed. Anaerobic specimens are collected in B-D vacutainer tubes if an aspirate can not be obtained. Needle aspirates must have needle removed and the syringe capped before delivery to laboratory.