Acid Fast Bacilli (AFB) Specimen Concentration

Mycobacteria specimen concentration, specimen decontamination, specimen digestion

G-MYCO

Processing of non-sterile specimens for the growth and detection of mycobacteria

N/A

N/A

N/A

• Sputum
• Exudate
• Stool
• Badly contaminated tissues/body fluids

Clinical specimen

3 mL to 15 mL

Transport specimen as soon as possible on cold pack. If transport is delayed over one hour, refrigerate specimen.

Do not use transport medium. A sterile, leak-proof, 50 mL conical tube preferred for primary container. Add up to 10 mL sterile saline to tissue if needed to maintain moisture during transport.

• Two patient-specific identifiers required (e.g., patient full name, date of birth, Medical record number)
• Identifiers on specimen must exactly match submission form.

• Ship according to Dangerous Goods Regulations, IATA, and/or CFR 49
• Category B shipping applies    

Ship on frozen cold packs if at all possible!

N-Acetyl-L-cysteine (NALC)- sodium hydroxide (NaOH) digestion-decontamination

N/A

Delay in transport of specimen could compromise isolation of organism.

• Specimen leaked in transit. 
• Missing identifier(s) on specimen container. 
• No test requested on G-MYCO requisition form. 
• Specimens received frozen, in formalin, or in culture medium will be rejected. 
• Swabs are discouraged unless the only specimen available; submit swabs in 5 mL sterile saline. 
• Gastric specimens must be neutralized prior to transport.

Mycobacteria are recovered optimally from clinical specimens when methods both to release them from body fluids and cells (digestion) and remove/reduce competing organisms (decontamination) are used.