Neisseria gonorrhoeae
(GC)

Sample type:

• Body fluid, discharge, pus, swab of genital lesions, or urethral discharge (best for men when available), anus, throat.

Uses:

• Isolate and identify N gonorrhoeae; establish the diagnosis of gonorrhea.

Precautions:

• Do not collect urethral specimens until at least one hour after urinating.

• Collection directly from male urethral discharge is desirable.

• Collect anorectal specimens from the crypts just inside the anal ring.

• Endocervix: Swab endocervical canal. Avoid contaminating swab with vaginal secretions. Cultures from the urethra or vagina are indicated from females when endocervical culture is not possible.

• Urethra: Strip the urethra toward the orifice to express exudate. Use a sterile swab to obtain the specimen.

• Vagina: Use a speculum, moistened only with warm water, not lubricant. Obtain a specimen from the posterior vaginal vault or from the vaginal orifice if the hymen is intact.

• Swab samples should be rolled over the surface of the Jembec medium.

Interfering Factors:

• Overgrowth by Proteus and yeast may make it impossible to rule out presence of N gonorrhoeae.

• The vancomycin in Thayer-Martin media may inhibit some strains of N gonorrhoeae.

• Nongonococcal urethritis may be caused by Ureaplasma urealyticum.

Pre analytical errors:

1. Inappropriate specimen received.

2. Unlabeled specimen or name discrepancy between specimen and request label;

3. Specimen received after prolonged delay (usually more than 72 hours);

4. Specimen received in expired transport container.

Corrective action:

1. Appropriate specimen received.

2. Labeled specimen and no name discrepancy between specimen and request label.

3. Specimen received without delay.

4. Specimen received in valid transport container.

Post analytical errors:

1. Failure in reporting.

2. Erroneous validation of analytical data.

3. Improper data entry.

Corrective action:

1. Write correct report.

2. All analytical data should be valid.

3. Proper data entrty.