Dr Piyush Tailor

Operative specimen as well as biopsies should to be sent in sealed double leak proof specimen bags/containers.

The specimen should completely immerse in 10% buffered formalin (For small biopsies formalin should be ten times the volume of the tissue & Big specimens should be at least double the volume of the tissue)

All specimens as well as histopathology requisition forms should be labelled properly with patient details and clearly mentioned Suspected/ Positive status of Covid -19

Please ensure that the requisition forms are not handled with contaminated gloves, or contaminated with blood, bodily fluids or any infective material. (Preferably pathology forms should be filled by the person who has not come in contact with the patient)

Please ensure that the personnel who transport these specimens should be aware / trained in safe handling practices and should be wearing masks and gloves.

All pathology COVID-19 suspicious/confirmed specimens should be received in sealed double leak proof specimen containers must be labelled clearly as Suspected/ Confirmed Covid-19.

Specimens should be transferred into formalin-filled, properly sealed designated pathology containers with adequate amount of formalin to be added to cover the tissue in the container. The patient details should be labellled on the pathology container.

External surfaces of the specimen container must be disinfected using 0.1% Sodium Hypochlorite solution prior to touch and open them following proper precautions.

Laboratory technician who receive these specimens must be trained in safe handling practices and should be wearing masks and gloves.

All small specimens/biopsies should be processed after 24 hours and all large operative specimens after 24-48 hours of formalin fixation according to CDC/WHO guidelines.

Pathologist must ensure proper fixation of the specimens prior handling them.

While grossing, cover the specimen with cotton to reduce aerosol spread.

Then gross examination should be carried out. Sections should be taken as per standard guidelines and sections are sent for tissue processing.

Due to requirement of additional time of formalin fixation, there might be some delay in reporting of all specimens.

Laboratory person must wear personal protective equipment when conducting work in the grossing room. PPE must include disposable gloves and a laboratory coat or gown as a minimum, and may also include eye protection and other equipment, as identified by risk assessment. PPE must be removed on leaving the grossing room and hygiene practices including hand washing must be rigorously maintained.

Irrespective of the containment level, work surfaces and equipment must be decontaminated after specimens have been processed.

Pay attention to all surfaces that may have come into contact with specimens or specimen containers.

Use a disinfectant solution with proven activity against enveloped RNA viruses including sodium hypochlorite (bleach) (0.1%) for general surface disinfection and 1% for blood spills disinfection.

Contact time- 30 minutes.

Infectious material to be disposed in a separate yellow bag labelled as “COVID”.