The Rapid NH System.
The system is designed to identify Neisseria gonorrhoeae,
Neisseria meningitidis, and Moraxella catarrhalis,
as well as Haemophilus species.
The one hour procedure is only applicable
for suspected gonococci from urogenital specimens,
isolated on selective agar, like New York City.
The procedure begins with making sure the organism is pure.
Confirm by Gram stain and oxidase prior to the test.
Prepare an inoculum from a non-selective media
by making a suspension of an 18 to 24 hour test organism
in RapID inoculation fluid,
equivalent to a number 3 McFarland standard.
The suspension must be used within 15 minutes of preparation.
Using 48 hour plates may be necessary if the organism is slow growing.
Inoculate the RapID and H-panel as follows.
Peel back the tab of the panel over the inoculation port
by pulling the tab marked "peel to inoculate" up and to the left.
Use a pipette to transfer the entire contents of the inoculation fluid
into the upper right-hand corner of the panel.
Re-seal the inoculation port of the panel
by pressing the peel-back tab back in place.
Keep the panel on a level surface and tilt away from the test cavities.
Rock the panel gently from side to side while tilted back
to evenly distribute the inoculum along the rear wells.
Keeping it flat on the table,
tilt the panel s- immediately but slowly forward
toward the reaction cavities.
This should evacuate all of the inoculum
from the rear portion of the panel into the reaction cavities.
Return the panel to a level position
and gently tap to remove air trapped in the cavities.
Examine the reaction cavities,
to ensure that they are uniformly filled and bubble-free.
Incubate the panel at 35 degrees in a non-CO2 incubator for one hour.
Remove the panel from the incubator after one hour.
The panel contains ten reaction cavities that provide twelve test scores,
and if required, a 13th test score, NO2.
Reaction cavities eight to ten are bifunctual,
which means two results can be obtained from the same cavity.
Hold the panel firmly on the bench top,
peel off the label lid over the reaction cavities
by pulling the lower right-hand tab up and to the left.
Read the panels by looking down through the reaction wells
against a white background.
Obtain a report form, but do not add any reagents yet.
Read and score cavities one through ten
from left to right, using the interpretation guide.
Record the score on the report forms.
After that's done, add the following reagents to the cavities.
Two drops of RapID Nitrate A to reagent cavity number 9.
Two drops of RapID Nitrate B to cavity number 9 as well.
And two drops of RapID Spot Indole Reagent to cavity 10.
Use only RapID Spot Indole Reagent.
Allow at least one minute, but no more than five minutes,
for colour development.
Read and score cavities nine and ten.
Record the score on the report forms,
and then reference the microcode obtained on the report form,
to the RapID NH Code Compendium.