Question

The emergency department sends two nasal swabs from a 7 yr old child influenza and strep. Only one swab has the patient's label on it. Which of the following actions should be taken?

A)Discard both swabs since only one is labeled, making it impossible to identify the patient.
B)Process the labeled swab for both influenza and strep, assuming it's from the correct patient, and discard the unlabeled one.
C)Wait for the emergency department to provide proper labeling for the second swab before processing either.

Answer 1

The best action to take is to wait for the emergency department to provide proper labeling for the second swab.

Step-by-step explanation:

In this scenario, the best action to take is option C) Wait for the emergency department to provide proper labeling for the second swab before processing either.

It is important to maintain patient confidentiality and ensure accurate identification of specimens. In this case, since only one swab has the patient's label, it would be impossible to identify the patient if both swabs were discarded. Therefore, it is necessary to wait for the emergency department to provide proper labeling for the second swab before processing either.