Week 2 Chapter 23 Specimen Flashcards
Collecting a sterile urine specimen
By inserting a straight catheter into the urinary bladder to remove urine or obtaining a specimen from the port of an indwelling catheter and with the use of sterile technique
Midstream urine
A midstream urine is collect d to perform culture and sensitivity. This is not through a catheter
24 hour urine specimen
Used to test measurements like adrenocortical steriods, hormones, protein, and creatinine clearence. The first urine is discarded though.
Measuring blood glucose levels
Using a glucose meter to measure the blood glucose of a patient with diabetes provides better data than testing with urine for glucose.
Collecting stool specimen
Collected for many reasons such as to determine the presence of infection or blood, to observe the amount,color, and consistency. Also to identify for bacteria, ova, and to determine presence of fats. Also possible to collect stool specimen from a colostomy or an ileostomy.
Determining the presence of blood in stool
Blood in body waste is abnormal. Bright red blood means the blood is fresh and from the lower gastrointestinal tract. Black tarry feces indicate the presence of old blood and that the bleeding is higher in the GI tract.
Cytology
Is the study of cells, including their formation, origin, structure, function, biochemical activities.
Obtaining a wound culture
If an LVN detects purulent or suspect looking drainage they will likely order a wound culture. Patient should be assessed for fever, chills, malaise and elevated WBC count which indicate a possible systemic infection. The ideal time to obtain a wound culture is to when dressing change is scheduled.
Collecting specimens from the nose and throat
Used when a pt has signs and symptoms of upper respiratory or sinus infection. Used to determine the type of infection or pathogen present. For example a nose culture is performed to detect MRSA. Important to collect culture specimens before antibiotic therapy.
Collecting blood specimen (venipuncture)
Helps with information about nutritional, hematologic, metabolic, immune, and biochemical status. For older adults they have fragile veins sometimes an application of a warm compress can help with the sample collection. In the home care setting using a blood pressure cuff rather than a tourniquet can be done. A less invasive method of collecting a blood specimen is called a capillary puncture which is commonly used for newborns and for glucose monitoring of patientsz
Blood culture
A specific blood test used to detect the presence of bacteria in the blood specimen (bacteremia) requires a special phlebotomy technique. Usually blood culture is done when fever and chills accompany bacteremia. It is important to draw at least two culture specimens one each from a different site.
