Notes: Referral Sample

   Materials needed for collection:

1. Provide a concentration of organisms, from a blood sample, to be inoculated directly onto agar surfaces.
2. Wampol Isolator tubes should be at room temperature before collection.

1. one Wampol isolator 10 ml tube
2. needles and syringes
3. alcohol and iodine preps

• Alternate Sample: Green top (heparinized) should be at room temperature before collection

1. One 10mL Green top heparinized
2. Needles syringe
3. Alcohol or iodine prep

Specimen Collection considerations:  

1. The black rubber stopper of the isolator tube should be scrubbed with an iodine solution. Avoid pooling of the solution on the rubber stopper. The iodine should then be allowed to dry.
2. The patient's arm should be disinfected appropriately for sterile venipuncture (see Blood Culture Collection procedure for skin preparation).
3. The isolator tube should be filled as the "first" tube of a venipuncture draw, or alternatively, using a syringe.
4. If a syringe is utilized to inoculate the tube, the specimen must not be forced into the vacutainer. Butterfly draws should not be used due to the potential for clotting of the sample prior to entry into the tube.
5. The amount of blood present is most critical. When the tube is nearly full, 7.5 ml will be present. Tubes with lesser amounts should not be processed.
6. Gently invert the tube four or five times immediately after collection of the blood.
7. The tube, properly labeled with the patient's name, chart number, time, and date of collection, and a completed requisition (including time of collection) should be transported immediately to the Microbiology Laboratory.

Rejection Criteria:

1. Isolator tubes which contain less than the required amount of sample (less than 7.5 ml) should not be processed.
2. An extended delay in specimen transport (Isolator tube), which would not allow processing of the sample within 16 hours from the collection time, is not acceptable.
3. Green top heparinized tubes that contain less than required amount of sample (less than 7.5mL) should not be processed/