Procedure for Culture Specimen Processing: Laryngeal Swab

The procedure for processing laryngeal swab specimens in TB cultures is as follows: 

1. Transfer the swab (without a stick) into a sterile centrifuge tube and add 2 ml sterile water.
2. Add 2 ml N-acetyl L-cysteine - sodium hydroxide (NALC-NaOH) solution, replace the cap, mix well (vortex mix), keep for 15 minutes.
3. Remove the swab with forceps, squeezing the liquid out of the swab, and discard the swab.
4. Fill the tube with phosphate buffer, mix and centrifuge at 3000x - 3500x g (15-20 minutes).
5. Discard the supernatant fluid and resuspend the sediment in 1-2 ml sterile buffer.

The processed specimen is used to inoculate the MGIT tubes.

Resources

• MGIT Procedure Manual, Mycobacteria Growth Indicator Tube (MGIT) Culture and Drug. Susceptibility Demonstration Projects, FIND Training Manual.

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