Chlamydia/Gonococcus - Client-provided Aliquot

“Because cytology/HPV testing and STD testing address different clinical questions, aliquot removal may not be suitable for all clinical situations. Physicians and other persons responsible for ordering clinical tests should be familiar with the following.

• There is no evidence of degradation of cytology results by aliquot removal, however, this cannot be ruled out for all specimens. As with any subsampling step in anatomic pathology, chance misallocation of diagnostic cells may occur if they are very rare. If negative results from the specimen do not fit with the clinical impression, a new specimen may be necessary.

• Aliquot removal from low-cellularity may leave insufficient material in the PreservCyt® sample vial for preparation of a satisfactory ThinPrep® Pap Test™ slide.

• Aliquot removal may leave insufficient material in the PreservCyt® sample vial for performance of ancillary testing (ie, reflexive HPV testing) using the residual specimen following preparation of a ThinPrep® Pap Test™.

• Cocollection of separate samples for the ThinPrep® Pap Test™ and STD testing may be considered in lieu of aliquot removal.

• When opting for concurrent cytologic and STD testing, providers should consider risk and clinical history (eg, disease prevalence, patient age, sexual history, or pregnancy) as well as specimen suitability (ie, exudates of bleeding) that can impact diagnostic reliability.^1,2