SUMMARY
The ARX Liquid Amies Collection & Transport System consists of a sterile pre-scored ARX Sciences Test Swab, and a polypropylene screw-cap vial containing 1 ml of modified liquid Amies medium. ARX Sciences Test Swab flocked swabs are available in various score points and configurations to facilitate specimen collection from various sites on patients’ bodies.1 Modified liquid Amies transport medium is a non-nutritive phosphate-buffered medium capable of maintaining the viability of aerobic, anaerobic, and fastidious bacteria such as Neisseria gonorrhoeae during transport to the laboratory. It also contains thioglycolate salt to provide a reduced environment and chloride salts to help maintain osmotic balance and control the permeability of bacterial cells.
WORKING PRINCIPLES
Once a specimen is collected with a swab, and added to the transport medium vial, it is immediately processed to achieve optimal recovery. For cases where immediate processing (i.e., within 2 hours) is not possible, specimens can be stored at 2–30°C and processed within 48 hours (except for Neisseria gonorrhea, which should be processed within 24 hours). Recent independent studies suggest that the viability of certain bacteria in swab transport systems will improve when transported or stored at refrigerated temperature.
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
The ARX Liquid Amies Collection & Transport System (ARX) is intended for use in the collection of clinical specimens (i.e., nasal secretion/wash; lachrymal secretion/tears; auricular secretion/cerumen; urethral, rectal, or vaginal swab; wound/abscess material) potentially containing aerobic, anaerobic, and fastidious bacteria and their transport at 2–8°C or 25–30°C from the patient to the laboratory for bacteriological examination and culture. In the laboratory, the collected and transported clinical specimens of nasal, lachrymal, ceruminous, vaginal, urethral, rectal, and wound/abscess origin are processed using standard clinical laboratory operating procedures for bacterial culture.
