{"title":"Blood Culture Optimization: Practical Tips","authors":"Reem M. Azem , Eric M. Ransom","doi":"10.1016/j.clinmicnews.2022.08.005","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><span>Sepsis is a serious medical condition that continues to be a leading cause of hospital admission and mortality worldwide. Blood cultures play a crucial role in identifying the source of sepsis and thus directing appropriate treatment for improved patient outcomes. Blood culture data are not only utilized for patient treatment but also have utility for infection control and epidemiological purposes. An important challenge facing blood culture results and interpretation is contamination, which can have negative effects on patient care and health care costs, including in the </span>clinical microbiology laboratory. This article reviews the process of blood culture collection, from the decision to collect blood cultures to processing, testing, and reporting. Strategies for blood culture optimization are discussed, along with data to support practices that can lead to improved patient care, diagnostic stewardship, and fiscal responsibility.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":39211,"journal":{"name":"Clinical Microbiology Newsletter","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Clinical Microbiology Newsletter","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0196439922000538","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"Medicine","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Sepsis is a serious medical condition that continues to be a leading cause of hospital admission and mortality worldwide. Blood cultures play a crucial role in identifying the source of sepsis and thus directing appropriate treatment for improved patient outcomes. Blood culture data are not only utilized for patient treatment but also have utility for infection control and epidemiological purposes. An important challenge facing blood culture results and interpretation is contamination, which can have negative effects on patient care and health care costs, including in the clinical microbiology laboratory. This article reviews the process of blood culture collection, from the decision to collect blood cultures to processing, testing, and reporting. Strategies for blood culture optimization are discussed, along with data to support practices that can lead to improved patient care, diagnostic stewardship, and fiscal responsibility.
期刊介绍:
Highly respected for its ability to keep pace with advances in this fast moving field, Clinical Microbiology Newsletter has quickly become a “benchmark” for anyone in the lab. Twice a month the newsletter reports on changes that affect your work, ranging from articles on new diagnostic techniques, to surveys of how readers handle blood cultures, to editorials questioning common procedures and suggesting new ones.