Neisseria gonorrhoeae Culture Information Sheet

‌Overview

MDL Test Name

Neisseria gonorrhoeae Culture

MDL Test Code

NG_CULT

Ask at Order Questions

N/A

Specimen Source

• Vaginal

• Endocervical

• Urethral/Penial

• Urethral Discharge

• Vaginal Discharge

• Genital

• Lesion

• ‌Throat

   

  Specimen Requirements

  Container/Tube

• ESwab

• ESwab Minitip Flocked Collection Kit (Urogenital)

  Specimen Volume (minimum)

• N/A (swab specimen)

• Must have swab present in container

  Sample Stability Time

• 24 hours

• Please notify MDL if a STAT courier is needed to meet this time.

  Transport/Storage Conditions

• Ambient (20-25°C)

• DO NOT REFRIGERATE

  Patient Preparation / Collection Instructions

• Do not collect urethral specimens until at least one hour after urinating. Collection directly from male urethral discharge is desirable.

• Endocervix: Swab endocervical canal. Avoid contaminating swab with vaginal secretions. Cultures from the urethra or vagina are indicated from females when endocervical culture is not possible.

• Urethra: Strip the urethra toward the orifice to express exudate. Use a sterile swab to obtain specimen.

• Vagina: use a speculum, moistened only with warm water, not lubricant. Obtain a specimen from the posterior vaginal vault or from the vaginal orifice.

• Refer to WSU MDL ESwab General Collection Guide

   

  ‌Performance

  Days Performed

  Daily; Monday – Sunday

  Report Available (TAT) – (Once received at MDL)

  3 – 4 days

  Specimen Retention Time

  7 days

  Method Description

• Conventional aerobic bacterial culture technique with selective media.

• Identification methods (when appropriate) may include any of the following: conventional biochemical testing, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry, and commercial identification panels.

  Reference Values

  No growth of Neisseria gonorrhoeae

  Cautions

• Culture is evaluated for presence/absence of N. gonorrhoeae only.

• Overgrowth of certain ‘normal vaginal flora’ may make it impossible to rule out presence of N. gonorrhoeae.

• Because of the labile nature of N. gonorrhoeae, a negative culture does not rule out infection.