Swab Information and Courses from MediaLab, Inc.
These are the MediaLab courses that cover Swab and links to relevant pages within the course.
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| Which of the following is the most suitable specimen for the isolation of Bordetella pertussis: | View Page |
| Which of the following specimens would not be considered suitable for anaerobic culture: | View Page |
| Definitions Before further discussion of Category A and Category B, it is important to define two additional terms that are used in the classification process. CultureAn infectious substance containing a pathogen that is intentionally propagated, for example a bacterium grown on bacteriological medium as seen in the image below. Culture does not include a human or animal patient specimen.Patient specimenHuman or animal materials collected directly from humans or animals and transported for research, diagnosis, investigational acitivities, or disease treatment or prevention. Patient specimen includes excreta, secreta, blood and its components, tissue and tissue swabs, body parts, and specimens in transport media (e.g., transwabs, culture media, and blood culture bottles).* *It is important to note that this means specimens that have been collected into these transport media, but have not yet been incubated and are not actively growing in the media. | View Page |
| Sterilization materials for phlebotomy Sterilization materials generally contain either:
Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol), usually in the form of prep pads, or
Iodine as povidone-iodine solution ( Betadine™, Purdue Frederick) in the form of solutions , swabs, or swab sticks.
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| Routine Venipuncture equipment continued Basic equipment includes: Alcohol swab, Bandage, Tube(s), Needle, Needle holderDo not remove the needle cover until you are ready to perform the venipuncture. | View Page |
| Cleaning the site Use an isopropyl alcohol swab to clean the site.Move the swab in an outward expanding spiral starting with the actual venipuncture site. | View Page |
| Site preparation continued Finally, prep the site with an iodine swab.
Start at the center of the site, and move outward in enlarging concentric circles. Do not go over the same area twice.Stop when you have covered an area about 4 inches in diameter. Allow this area to dry for at least one minute so that the iodine has time to kill the skin bacteria. | View Page |
| Clean the bottle tops Clean blood culture bottles while the iodine on the venipuncture site is drying. Wipe the tops of the blood culture bottles, first with a new iodine swab, then with a clean alcohol pad. | View Page |
| Blood Collect the blood specimen next, if required.Be sure to use the iodine swab provided in the collection kit to disinfect the venipuncture site.Do not use an alcohol swab, as this might lead to suspicion of a falsely elevated blood alcohol result. | View Page |