What does STS stand for?

What does STS stand for?

• A. Sodium polyanethesulfonate
• B. Sodium polyanethdesy/fonate
• C. Sodium citrate
• D. Sodium fluoride

Answer: (B)

STS stands for Sodium polyanethol sulfonate, an additive used in blood culture tubes. This substance acts as an anticoagulant and helps preserve and recover microorganisms during culture by reducing some of the blood’s immune activity that could hinder growth. It’s different from other common additives: citrate is used to chelate calcium for coagulation testing, and fluoride (often with oxalate) is used to inhibit glycolysis for glucose testing. Because of its specific role in culture, STS-containing tubes are drawn early in the collection sequence to prevent cross-contamination of additives into other tests.

STS stands for Sodium polyanethol sulfonate, an additive used in blood culture tubes. This substance acts as an anticoagulant and helps preserve and recover microorganisms during culture by reducing some of the blood’s immune activity that could hinder growth. It’s different from other common additives: citrate is used to chelate calcium for coagulation testing, and fluoride (often with oxalate) is used to inhibit glycolysis for glucose testing. Because of its specific role in culture, STS-containing tubes are drawn early in the collection sequence to prevent cross-contamination of additives into other tests.