1. Specimen Collection and Processing
Chapter 46
Specimen Collection and Processing

2. Urine Specimen First morning Midstream clean-catch 24-hour
Pediatric collection
Urinary catheterization

3. Chain of Custody
Collection of urine specimen for substance abuse analysis
Detects the presence of illegal drugs and chemical substances
Chain of custody forms must be filled out and procedure followed

4. Pregnancy Testing
Measures the amount of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in urine or blood
Most commonly performed on urine at home and in the POL

5. Urinalysis
Three components
Physical
Chemical
Microscopic

6. Physical Urinalysis
Color
Clarity
Volume
Odor

7. Chemical Urinalysis
Analyze specimen as soon as possible after collection
Reagent strips provide qualitative and quantitative assessments

8. Chemical Urinalysis
Strips are compared to known values on the bottle for reporting

9. Normal and Abnormal ValuespH
Protein
Ketone
Bilirubin
Urobilinogen
Hematuria
Nitrite
Leukocyte esterase
Glucose
Specific gravity

10. Microscopic Examination
MAs may prepare the slide for the provider to view and report results
Centrifuge urine tubes
Pour off supernatant
Collect sediment and place on slide
The MA does not read or interpret results of microscopic urine specimen

11. Fecal Specimen
Used to check for occult blood, ova and parasites, bacterial and viral infections
Stool specimen are difficult for patients to collect properly
Instruct patients to obtain specimen at home and bring to lab for testing

12. Fecal Specimen Occult blood specimen
Common screening tools for early detection of colon cancer
Test uses a guaiac reagent

13. Bacterial Specimen
Bacteria, viruses, and fungi are extracted from specimen for identification, to determine the appropriate treatment
Culture is taken from the part of the body that is infected
Collected in a culturette

14. Bacterial Specimen Culture sites Nose Throat Vagina Mouth Ear Anus
Eye
Nose
Vagina
Anus
Infected Wounds

15. Throat Culture
Taken from patients complaining of sore throat, fever, swollen glands, and cough
Rapid Group A strep kits provide results in minutes

16. Blood Cultures
Blood is drawn from patient directly into a particular formulated broth in a vacuum bottle
When a blood culture is positive, this indicates a systemic infection and requires immediate attention

17. Culture and Sensitivity
Specimen is collected and inoculated in special media (agar) to encourage growth of microorganisms
Sensitivity tests the organism against different types of antibiotics

18. Culture and Sensitivity
Media comes in petri dishes, tubes, and broths
Primary media encourages the growth of all microorganisms
Selective media discourages the growth of certain microorganisms

19. Gram Staining and Microbiologic Smears
Used to help identify a bacterial specimen
Bacteria specimen are sorted into two groups
Gram positive
Dark blue to violet after staining
Gram negative
Red or pink after staining
More dangerous connotation than Gram positive

20. Morphologic Shapes
Three basic shapes
Coccus
Bacillus
Spiral

21. Morphologic Shapes Gram positive cocci in clusters
Staphylocci
Gram positive cocci in chains
Streptococci
Gram negative cocci in pairs
Neiserria gonorroeae
Gram negative bacilli
Escherichia coli