Rabbit & Rodent Diagnostic Associates

Blood Culture


Special Instructions (if applicable):

For good laboratory test results you must have proper collection and handling of the specimen. It is best to collect blood cultures when the animal has an elevated temperature, prior to placing it on antibiotics or after it has been off antibiotics for at least two to three days. In the latter instance, if sulfonamide drugs or penicillin was the antibiotic used for treatment, please use culture broth which has an antibiotic inhibitor present. Please state clinical diagnosis and time of collection. List current antibiotic therapy, clinical diagnosis and any special organisms suspected to be present or to be ruled out. Indicate if culture is for BrucelIa or Francisella testing. Do not use expired blood culture media.

Collection Storage Instructions

Pre-incubate or maintain specimen at room temperature. Do not refrigerate.

Arrangements for Specimen Transport

Specimens should be sent to MDS/RRDA as soon as possible so that contact time with atmospheric oxygen is minimized. Advance arrangements with MDS/RRDA are always appreciated so that rapid transport of specimens can be arranged and the specimens processed immediately on arrival. If you call MDS/RRDA (858-450-9990) prior to sample collection, our courier service can pick up and deliver the samples to the laboratory within an hour.

Preparation

The major difficulty in interpretation of blood cultures is potential contamination by skin flora. This difficulty can be markedly reduced by careful attention to the details of skin preparation and antisepsis prior to collection of the specimen.

Skin Preparation Bottle Preparation Interpretation of Positive Blood Cultures
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