How to Submit Specimens

Protocol for Sending Specimens from CF Patients

1. Please send "pure" organisms on agar slants. No agar plates or sputum please.

• Use a suitable shipping method such as the double-mailing containers consisting of an inner aluminum screw-cap receptacle and an outer fiberboard screw-cap mailing case. The outer container should have the sender's and the CF Referral Center’s name, address and contact telephone number. Our address is:

CF Referral Center for Susceptibility & Synergy Studies
College of Physicians & Surgeons of Columbia University
650 West 168th Street
Black Building 4/413
New York, NY 10032

• Place in the container a completed CF Physician and Patient Information Form per patient.† On this form:

.	Please provide us with contact information for the referring physician and clinical microbiology laboratory
	Please complete the antibiogram section for the isolate(s) you are sending to confirm resistance pattern and to facilitate processing. Alternatively, you can send us a print-out copy of the identification and antimicrobial susceptibilities obtained by your laboratory.

• Modifications to Organisms Accepted for Testing: From January 1st 2008, the scope of work at The Synergy Lab will be modified to only process multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa and a maximum of 2 requests per patient per year.
• If multiple strains of P. aeruginosa are recovered from a single patient, please send us the most resistant isolate(s) for testing.
• We will process P. aeruginosa strains that are :

(We will process an isolate no matter the susceptibility pattern if a patient is failing therapy or has significant drug allergies. We need to be informed of these clinical circumstances when you send the isolate by annotating the patient information form).

• Send the package by overnight delivery. We have noted that nearly all of our referring centers have had very good experience with .
• Results can be obtained from our secure server. We no longer mail printed reports. For further information on how to register on-line or if you need us to guide you through the registration process please contact Luis Alba at (212) 305-3005 or via email at LA2131@columbia.edu.

We will provide faxed reports to end users without internet access.

• Please feel free to call or email us with any further questions.

†Available as an Adobe® Acrobat® File. Requires Adobe® Acrobat® Reader .
If you are unable to download the form, please email or call the CF Referral Center Laboratory at 212-305-1991.
‡Saiman L, Siegel J, and the CF Foundation Consensus Conference on Infection Control Participants. 2003. Infection control recommendations for patients with cystic fibrosis: microbiology, important pathogens, and infection control practices to prevent patient-to-patient transmission. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 24:S6-52