Interim Guidelines for Collecting, Handling, and Testing Clinical Specimens for COVID-19: Interim Guidelines for Collecting, Handling, and Testing Clinical Specimens from Persons for Coronavirus Disease 2019 : Dec. 21, 2020

Details

• Alternative Title:
  COVID-19)
• Corporate Authors:
  National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (U.S.). Division of Viral Diseases. ; United States. Department of Homeland Security. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency‏.
• Description:
  Updated Dec. 21, 2020
  
  Updates as of December 18, 2020
  
  Clarification on the use of sterile swabs for upper respiratory specimen collection to preserve patient safety and specimen integrity.
  
  • Clarify specimen collection procedures for all swab types and align with other respiratory disease specimen collection guidelines.
  
  Healthcare providers* and health department staff considering ordering testing of people with possible infection of SARS-CoV-2 should work with their state, tribal, local, and territorial (STLT) health departments to coordinate testing through public health laboratories, or work with commercial or clinical laboratories using molecular and antigen tests. The type of specimen collected is based on the test you’re using and its manufacturer’s instructions. Some of the specimen types listed below will not be appropriate for all tests.
  
  Summary of Recent Changes -- Specimen Type and Priority -- Collecting and Handling Specimens Safely -- Handling Bulk-Packaged Sterile Swabs Properly -- General Guidelines -- Respiratory Specimens -- Storage -- Shipping -- Additional Resources.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Clinical Laboratory Techniques Containment Of Biohazards Coronavirus Infections/diagnosis COVID-19 Safety Specimen Handling
• Series:
  Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Guideline
• Place as Subject:
  United States
• Collection(s):
  Stephen B. Thacker CDC Library
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:66fd1f4adcb440c16349e464a3f1c0e5d836263fd6937742d719ea8d7a673216d303e67abfc459663b41f8cf3271cad691503c26ff9943a45eee7d3a3a41b783
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/99168/cdc_99168_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 294.16 KB ]