GC culture
Sample Reqs
LAS or GasPak culture system
Turnaround
5 days
Special instructions
Pink liquid Amies swabs (LAS) are preferred as they provide higher-quality results than gel Amies swabs. Swabs should be sent immediately to the laboratory for culture to maximise the chance of recovery of GC.
Packaged GC culture plates in the BD GasPak EZ CO2 pouch system MUST be incubated for a minimum of 18 hours at 35–37°C before sending to the laboratory. After incubation, the plates can be sent to the laboratory for processing. This pre-incubation ensures the viability of the GC on the culture plates.
Test description
Further information on the BD GasPak EZ CO2 pouch system:
Sample type guide
LAS
Liquid Amies swab for culture and/or PCR
Additional information
- How to order a test
- Microbiology Specimens
- Microbiology Request procedures
- Microbiology Specialties
- Specimen transport
- Sample rejection criteria
- Request Forms
Last-updated: 25/06/26