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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, May 2003, p. 1894-1900, Vol. 41, No. 5
0095-1137/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.41.5.1894-1900.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Evaluation of a New Cellulose Sponge-Tipped Swab for Microbiological Sampling: a Laboratory and Clinical Investigation

National Public Health Institute, 20521 Turku,¹ Cellomeda OY, 20520 Turku,² Biometry Unit, School of Public Health, 33014 University of Tampere,³ Research Unit, Tampere University Hospital, 33521 Tampere, Finland⁴

Received 12 November 2002/ Returned for modification 15 December 2002/ Accepted 31 January 2003

A new type of swab (Cellswab; Cellomeda, Turku, Finland), utilizing a highly absorbent cellulose viscose sponge material, was compared to some traditional swabs. The survival of 14 aerobic and 10 anaerobic and microaerophilic bacterial species in the Cellswab, two commercial swab transport systems (Copan, Brescia, Italy, and Orion Diagnostica, Espoo, Finland), and one Dacron swab (Technical Service Consultants Ltd. [TSC], Heywood, United Kingdom) was evaluated. Bacteria were suspended in broth, into which the swabs were dipped. The Cellswab absorbed 1.3 times more fluid and released 3.5 times more fluid upon plating than the other swabs. Aerobic bacteria were stored in dry tubes, the others in transport medium, at 4°C and room temperature (RT), for up to 14 days. Swab samples were transferred to plates at 0, 1, 2, 4, 7, and 14 days. For 10 strains the Cellswab yielded 10% of the original CFU for longer than all the other swabs. In the clinical study, the ability of the Cellswab to detect beta-hemolytic streptococci from throat samples (n = 995) was compared to that of the TSC Dacron swab. The swabs performed equally, both when their samples were transferred to plates immediately and after storage for 1 day at 4°C or RT. The changes in normal microbiota after storage were also similar. The Cellswab was found to perform at least as well as ordinary swabs. It was better at storing fastidious strains, and at keeping bacteria viable for long storage times; it might well be a useful replacement or complement to ordinary swabs.