Transcript Swabs

Skill 304
Dr.
Mohammad
Marie
Lecture \ 5
Learning objectives
 To recognize the procedure of throat swab.
 To recognize the procedure of vaginal swab.
 To recognize the procedure of cervical swab.
Procedure of Throat swab
1- With the patient’s head tilted back and the throat well
illuminated, depress the tongue so that the back of the
throat can be seen.
Procedure of Throat swab
2- Rub the swab up and down the back of the throat and
against any white patches in the tonsillar area. Avoid
the tongue and the cheeks.
Procedure of Throat swab
3- Replace the swab in the transport tube .
4- Seal tube tightly and label with patient’s information,
and date .
5- Send the specimen to the laboratory .
Precautions
 Gargling to clear the throat or treatment with
antibiotics will affect culture results and may make
identification of the bacteria impossible. The patient
should not gargle immediately before the culture.
Culture of Throat swab
 Definition :
A throat culture is a microbiological procedure for
identifying disease-causing bacterial organisms in
material taken from the throat. A throat swab will
capture the causative organism in most cases and the
culture will allow the specific organism to be grown in
the microbiology laboratory under certain conditions.
The bacteria can then be identified .
Culture of Throat swab
 Purpose :
1- identify the specific bacterial organisms that are causing
a sore throat or throat infection
2- a correct diagnosis is important to prevent unnecessary
use of antibiotics for viruses that do not respond to them.
3- the bacteria identified are used to determine antibiotic
sensitivity, allowing physicians to select the most
appropriate and effective antibiotic to treat a specific
infection.
• It is common for physicians to order culture and sensitivity
tests at the same time. ( c/s test )
Vaginal swab
 Vaginal swabs are the specimens of choice when
screening for :
1- trichomonas vaginalis
Vaginal swab
2- candida species
candida-albicans
Vaginal swab
3- gardnerella vaginalis with anaerobes .
Procedure of vaginal swab
1- Place the patient in dorsal position, supported by a
pillow
2- ask her to bring her heels together,
3- bend her legs and then draw her heels towards her
bottom.
4- Open the swab package
Procedure of vaginal swab
5- Remove the swab; do not touch the soft tip or lay the
swab down.
6- Hold the swab as shown
Procedure of vaginal swab
7- Insert the swab into the lower part of the vagina
(about two inches ).
8- Gently but firmly rotate the swab for 10 to 30 seconds
in the vagina.
vagina
Procedure of vaginal swab
9- Withdraw the swab without touching the skin.
10- Place the swab into the test tube so that the tip of the
swab is visible below the tube label .
11- Ensure that the swab is labeled accurately and place,
with the completed request form
12- transport bag for transportation to the Department
of Medical Microbiology.
Cervical swab
 Also it is called : Papanicolaou test ,Pap smear, Pap
test, cervical smear, or smear test .
 A sample of cells from a woman's cervix (the end of
the uterus that extends into the vagina ) is collected
and spread (smeared) on a microscope slide. The cells
are examined under a microscope in order to look for
pre-malignant (before-cancer) or malignant (cancer)
changes.
 Changes can be treated, thus preventing cervical
cancer, and cancer can be detected early.
Cervical swab
 The best time for screening is between 10 and 20 days
after the first day of menstrual period .
 For about two days before testing, a woman should
avoid douching or using spermicidal foams, creams, or
jellies or vaginal medicines (except as directed by a
physician). These agents may wash away or hide any
abnormal cervical cells.
Procedure of cervical swab
1- Place the patient in dorsal position, supported by a
pillow
2- ask her to bring her heels together,
3- bend her legs and then draw her heels towards her
bottom.
Procedure of cervical swab
4- Moisten the speculum
with warm water and
insert into the vagina to
separate the vaginal walls.
Wipe away any excess
cervical mucus with a
tissue. Using a blue top
Trans tube swab sample as
high as possible into the
vault.
5- Gently but firmly rotate
the swab (a cervical brush)
Procedure of cervical swab
6- Withdraw the swab without touching the skin.
7- Remove speculum and wipe vaginal / vulval area with
a tissue .
8- Place the swab into the test tube so that the tip of the
swab is visible below the tube label .
9- Ensure that the swab is labeled accurately and place,
with the completed request form
10- transport bag for transportation to the Department
of Medical Microbiology.