Criticality of In-House Preparation of Viral Transport Medium in Times of Shortage During COVID-19 Pandemic

Petersen, Jeffrey; Dalal, Sharvari; Jhala, Darshana

OBJECTIVE: With the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been supply challenges necessitating that laboratories must prepare their own viral transport medium (VTM), which provides stability for clinical specimens for diagnostic viral testing. METHODS: Within a veteran affairs medical center clinical laboratory, VTM was prepared with a Hanks Balanced Salt Solution (HBSS) 500 mL bottle with phenol red, sterile heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum (FBS), gentamicin sulfate (50 mg/mL), and amphotericin B (250 μg/mL). An antimicrobial mixture was made of 50 mL each of amphotericin B and gentamicin sulfate. Ten mL of FBS and 2 mL of the antimicrobial mixture were mixed into the HBSS bottle, from which 3 mL aliquots were made. Sterility and efficacy check were assessed. These preparations were conducted at our VAMC’s clinical laboratory to assure adequate VTM supply during the COVID-19 shortage. RESULTS: The VTM was successfully prepared in-house, supporting uninterrupted testing for the facility and other affiliated medical facilities/centers and community living centers. CONCLUSION: This quality assurance/improvement report represents the first published manuscript on feasible VTM preparation exclusively within a clinical microbiology laboratory during the COVID-19 pandemic.