SPECIMEN COLLECTION: Tissue or Fluids

How should we handle duodenal drainage specimens?

These specimens may be very liquid and may contain lots of mucus. It is best to centrifuge the tube, discard any supernatent left, and examine the mucus only as wet preparations (low light) and/or permanent stained smears (trichrome, iron-hematoxylin).

It is important to remember that Giardia tend to be caught up in the mucus; many organisms may seen in the strands of mucus on the permanent stained smear.