Specimen Requirements

Specimen must arrive refrigerated and within 24 hours of collection.

1. Patient should rinse mouth well with sterile water before producing sputum specimen.
2. Instruct patient to cough deeply from lungs and expectorate only what is produced by “deep cough” into a screw-capped, sterile container with no preservative. Note:  If patient is unable to cough deeply or expectorate, respiratory treatment or suction with mucous trap may be necessary.
3. Label container with patient’s name, date of birth or hospital medical record number, specimen source, date and time of collection, and collector’s initials.

Note: Sputum that contains >10 epithelial cells per low power field is not acceptable unless there are an equal number of WBCs. Ridgeview Medical Center Laboratory will cancel culture and notify nursing station or clinic.