Cutaneous and Other Wound Cultures Collected in a Non Surgical Setting
NOTE: Anaerobic culture is not performed on cutaneous specimens.
POWERCHART ORDER -Wound Culture- Non Surgical
Useful For
Cutaneous and Other Wound Cultures Collected in a Non Surgical Setting
NOTE: Anaerobic culture is not performed on cutaneous specimens.
Many organisms can be associated with infections of the skin and subcutaneous tissues. In most instances, tissue or aspirated material taken from the wound, is the optimal specimen for the isolation of infecting organisms.
Swabs, while easier to collect, often pick up contaminating skin flora or colonizing organisms and may yield 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
Cutaneous Swab Culture; Routine Culture; Wound Culture - Non Surgical; Abscess Culture,superficial,cutaneous,surgical
Specimen Required
Culturette or E-swab of superficial skin surfaces or wounds
- E-swab, Rayon, or Dacron swabs in culturette transport device with liquid Stuarts medium.
- NOTE: Anaerobic culture is not performed on cutaneous specimens.
Specimen Minimum Volume
1 swab
Specimen Stability Information
- Transport at room temperature.
- Specimen must be received within 48 hours of collection.
- *NOTE* Specimens that do not meet the above criteria will be rejected.
Rejected Due To
- Specimen not transported at room temperature.
- Specimen not received within 48 hours of collection.
- Anaerobic culture is not performed on cutaneous specimens.
- *NOTE* Specimens that do not meet the above criteria will be rejected.
Special Instructions
- Specimens must be labeled with complete source and body site information.
- Exam includes direct smear (gram stain) and susceptibility testing, when appropriate, for the isolates recovered.
- NOTE: Anaerobic culture is not performed on cutaneous specimens.
Performing Laboratory
Glens Falls Hospital Microbiology Laboratory
Reference Values
N/A
Day(s) and Time(s) Performed
- Day Shift
- 7 Days per Week
Analytical Time
Up to 3 days
Specimen Retention Time
72 hours
Analytical Time
Up to 3 days