Culture, Environmental Surveillance
Test Code: 4479
CPT Code(s): Not applicable
Clinical Significance: Aside from well-accepted environmental cultures such as monitoring sterilization practices and monthly cultures of hospital waters and dialysate fluids, all other environmental microbiological investigations should be performed only as part of epidemiologic investigations in which environmental or medical-device surfaces may represent microbial reservoirs or sources of health care-associated pathogens.
Methodology: Bacterial culture, aerobic includes use of routine isolation and identification procedures
Alternative Name(s): Surveillance Culture
Supply: #S12 ESwabTM Specimen Collection and Transport System - White Cap
Preferred Specimen(s): 1 swab collected liquid elution swab (ESwab)
Minimum Volume: One transport swab
Collection Instructions: Use swab to sample environmental surface of interest. Indicate the organism to be ruled out.
Transport container: #S12 ESwabTM Specimen Collection and Transport System - White Cap
Transport temperature: Room Temperature
Specimen stability:
- Room temperature: 48 hours
- Refrigerated: 48 hours
- Frozen: Unacceptable
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Water
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No "rule out" organism provided
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Submitted from a non-hospital client
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Swabs for sterility testing
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Swabs of medical devices (ex. endoscopes)
For additional supply or collection device information, please contact DLO's Customer Service at (800) 891-2917, option 2.
The CPT codes provided 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.