Culture, Environmental Surveillance

Test Code

4479

CPT Codes
Not applicable

Preferred Specimen

1 swab collected in an Amies liquid transport swab, Amies gel transport swab, Amies liquid elution swab (ESwab) or equivalent

Minimum Volume

One transport swab

Instructions

Use swab to sample environmental surface of interest. Indicate the organism to be ruled out.

Transport Container

Transport swab

Transport Temperature

Room temperature

Specimen Stability

Room temperature: 48 hours
Refrigerated: 48 hours
Frozen: Unacceptable

Reject Criteria (Eg, hemolysis? Lipemia? Thaw/Other?)

Water • No "rule out" organism provided • Submitted from a non-hospital client • Swabs for sterility testing • Swabs of medical devices (ex. endoscopes)

Methodology
Bacterial culture, aerobic includes use of routine isolation and identification procedures

Setup Schedule

Daily

Report Available

2 days

Clinical Significance

Varies with isolate. Useful for determining the source of a nosocomial infection.

Performing Laboratory

Quest Diagnostics-Seattle

1737 Airport Way S Suite 200

Seattle, WA 98134-1636

Last Updated: November 6, 2024

The CPT Codes provided in this document are based on AMA guidelines and are for informational purposes only. CPT coding is the sole responsibility of the billing party. Please direct any questions regarding coding to the payor being billed. Any Profile/panel component may be ordered separately. Reflex tests are performed at an additional charge.