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Test Code LAB4516 CULTURE IV CATHETER TIP

Infectious

Specimen Type

Sterile Container

Collection Instructions

Using aseptic technique, hold the exposed end of the catheter and carefully remove it from the patient with a sterile instrument. Avoid contact with exposed skin. Once removed, hold the distal end of the catheter over a sterile container and cut the tip with sterile scissors so that the last 5cm of the catheter drops into the container.

Intravascular catheter tip; two sets of blood cultures should be collected and submitted at the time the cath tip is submitted for culture. One set should be drawn through the catheter and one from a peripheral site.

Turnaround Time

3 days

Test Schedule

Daily

Sample Stability

Room Temp: 1 day

Method

Culture – Semiquantitative

Reference Ranges

Organism name with colony count

Synonyms

Arterial Line; Broviac; CVC; Double Lumen; Hickman; PICC; Port-A-Cath; Scribner Shunt; Sheldon; Swan-Ganz; Triple Lumen; Udall; UVC

Test Components

Organism name with colony count

CPT Codes

87070

Rejection Criteria

This test code should not be used for Foley catheter tips. IV cath tips should not be placed in saline or transport medium.