title: Evaluation of the BD Vacutainer Plus Urine C&S Preservative Tubes compared with nonpreservative urine samples stored at 4°C and room temperature.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The stability of urine specimens submitted for culture remains a challenge for many laboratories because of delays in specimen transport. We evaluated the usefulness of BD Vacutainer Plus Urine C&S Preservative Tube in ensuring specimen stability.
  
  
  METHODS
  Clinical urine specimens collected in sterile collection cups (n = 110) were plated onto sheep blood and MacConkey agar following standard laboratory procedures guidelines. Thereafter, specimens were divided into 3 storage conditions: nonpreservative, refrigerated; nonpreservative, room temperature (RT); BD Vacutainer Plus Urine C&S Preservative Tube, RT. For each sample type, additional cultures were set up at 2, 4, 24, and 48 hours.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Initially, 18 specimens had no growth, 32 showed mixed skin flora, and 60 yielded at least 1 uropathogen. Increased colony counts of uropathogens were observed for nonpreserved urine samples stored at RT; these changes were statistically significant. Minor differences between refrigerated urine samples and BD Vacutainer Plus Urine C&S Preservative Tube samples were seen but were not statistically significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The use of preservative-containing collection tubes is desirable to ensure specimen stability when prompt processing or refrigeration is not feasible.
authors: Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
authors: Stephen W
authors: SW
authors: Eisinger
authors: Matthew
authors: M
authors: Schwartz
authors: Lisa
authors: L
authors: Dam
authors: Stefan
authors: S
authors: Riedel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011310:Preservatives, Pharmaceutical; D012034:Refrigeration; D013696:Temperature; D059349:Urine Specimen Collection / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D011310:Preservatives, Pharmaceutical
keywords: BD Vacutainer Plus Urine C&S Preservative Tube; Specimen stability; Specimen transport; Urine culture; Urine specimen storage