Disposable Information and Courses from MediaLab, Inc.
These are the MediaLab courses that cover Disposable and links to relevant pages within the course.
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| Safety Precautions Important safety precautions must be observed when handling cerebrospinal fluid.
The following guidelines apply:Semi-automatic micropipettes and disposable plastic chambers are the safest option for CSF testing. Many laboratories still use the hemacytometer with disposable pipets.If disposable materials are not used, soak contaminated reusable pipets, hemacytometer and coverslip in 70% alcohol or Wexide.All disposable items should be placed in a biohazard container for appropriate disposal.Wash hands thoroughly when the examination is completed.Spinal fluids which are to be discarded must be placed in biohazard containers for appropriate disposal.Careful attention to specimen processing and handling will help ensure that accurate results are obtained.
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| Examining CSF with the Hemacytometer Specimens that are clear may be counted undiluted as long as there is no overlapping of the cells. Examining an undiluted CSF involves the following steps:
Mix the CSF manually 6 - 10 times or place it in a mechanical mixer for 5 minutes.Using a Pasteur pipet or Dispo® pipet, fill both sides of the hemacytometer and allow the cells to settle for 5 minutes. To prevent the fluid in the chamber from evaporating, place it in a Petri dish containing moist filter paper. A disposable chamber similar to a hemacytometer is preferred, if one is available.Focus on low power (10x) and scan for the presence of cells. If cells are located, switch to high power (40x) to determine whether the cells are leukocytes or erythrocytes. Erythrocytes will be smooth refractile discs or spheres. Some red cells may appear crenated. Keep in mind that some red cells may be folded or in a vertical position rather than flat. In this situation only a small portion of the cell will be visible. | View Page |
| What should you do if your lab coat or gown has dried or caked-on blood on it? | View Page |
| Collection supplies The following items must be available at the collection site in order to conduct a proper collection: Collection kit. Proper custody and control form. Bluing agent to add to the toilet bowl or water tank to prevent a donor from diluting the specimen. Single use disposable gloves for use by collectors while handling specimens. If appropriate, proper signage to prevent entry into the collection area. | View Page |
| Applying Direct Pressure Wear disposable latex gloves if available.Place a thick, clean compress (consisting of gauze or soft clean cloth) directly over the wound. The compress will absorb blood and help the clotting process.Apply pressure to the victim's wound by placing your palm directly over the compress and pressing firmly.If blood soaks through, do not remove the compress. Instead, add more cloth pads over it as needed. Removing the compress may reopen the wound and result in further bleeding. | View Page |
| Gloves Gloves must be worn: when there is a reasonable chance of exposure to blood, other infectious body fluids, mucous membranes, or nonintact skin. during vascular access procedures, including phlebotomy. when handling contaminated items or surfaces.Wear only flat rings under gloves as large rings may tear gloves.Replace gloves: Between patient contacts If they are damaged or contaminated Before leaving the work area. Wash hands after removing gloves.Never wash disposable gloves. | View Page |
| Engineering Controls Engineering Controls are devices which isolate the worker from the hazard of exposure.Examples: Self-sheathing needles Sharps disposal containers Disposable resuscitation bags Microbiological safety cabinets Proper use of engineering controls in your workplace will help protect you from bloodborne pathogens. | View Page |
| Sharps DOs and DON'Ts Place all needles and other sharps in puncture resistant sharps disposal containers as soon as possible after use.Detach needles from reusable holders by using the appropriate device on the disposal container.Do not recap, bend, shear, or break needles.Do not remove needles from disposable syringes. | View Page |
| Gloves Wear only flat rings under gloves as large rings may tear gloves. Replace gloves: Between patient contacts If they are damaged or contaminated Before leaving the work area. Wash hands after removing gloves. Never wash disposable gloves. | View Page |
| Safety Precautions Safety precautions should be observed when handling seminal fluid. The following guidelines should be followed:If non-disposable items are used, soak contaminated items(e.g.hemacytometers and coverslips) in 70% alcohol or Wexide®.All disposable items should be placed in a biohazard bag for autoclaving.Gloves must be worn and hands thoroughly washed when the examination is completed.Seminal fluids that are to be discarded should be placed in biohazard bags for autoclaving. | View Page |
| Other counting chambers Some professionals believe that sperm counts done by hemacytometer are not accurate because of the need to dilute the viscous semen prior to counting. There are several other counting methods available to assess sperm concentration.The advantages of the following methods are: the specimen does not have to be diluted motile and non-motile sperm can both be counted avoiding the need for wet mount evaluation of motile cells. Note that counting moving sperm can be difficult and takes significant practice to avoid error. For each of these methods accurate counts are best obtained when at least 100 sperm per replicate are counted. Makler (Zygotek Systems, Inc.). An undiluted sample is placed on the chamber and covered with the coverglass. Ten squares on the grid contain 0.000001ml. CellVu (Millennium Sciences, Inc). Two sides of a special slide are loaded with a drop of undiluted semen. Coverslips with special grids are placed on top of the sperm according to manufacturer's directions. Sperm on both sides are counted. MicroCell (Conception Technologies) has two chambers on a single, disposable slide. A special eyepiece with a grid is needed for counting. | View Page |
| Urine Specimen Collection Urine specimens should be collected in a clean, dry, disposable container. If the sample is to be cultured, the container must be sterile. The preferred method is the "clean catch" collection. The external genitalia are cleansed with a mild antiseptic solution. The first part of the urine stream is discarded while collecting only the midstream portion of the urine. | View Page |
| TB Infection Control in the Laboratory The laboratory director is responsible for the development of a risk-based infection control plan for the laboratory.The personnel are trained in methods that minimize the production of aerosols.A respirator is used when performing procedures that can result in aerosolization outside a biological safety cabinet.Personal protective equipment specified in the infection control plan is used.Disposable gloves are worn for all laboratory procedures. | View Page |
| Airborne Infection Isolation Room Practices Patients with active TB should be assigned to single-patient rooms in which entry of HCWs and visitors is controlled.All HCWs use a N95 disposable respirator.Visitors may be offered respiratory protection and should be instructed by HCWs on the use of the respirator before entering.The room has requirements for controlled ventilation, negative pressure, and air filtration.Each isolation room should have a private bathroom. | View Page |