Multicenter Study Shows US Hospitals Vary Greatly in How They Define Blood Culture Contamination

Multicenter study shows US hospitals vary greatly in how they define blood culture contamination

Blood cultures, a laboratory test for detecting the presence of bacteria in samples of a patient's blood, are widely used by acute care hospitals to find infections as early as possible, identify their cause and guide appropriate treatment, particularly with antibiotics. Contamination of blood cultures may yield false positives or inaccurate diagnoses of bacterial infections and, in turn, may lead to unnecessary antibiotic exposure and prolonged…

Multicenter Study Shows U.S. Hospitals Vary Greatly in How They Define Blood Culture Contamination

Blood cultures, a laboratory test for detecting the presence of bacteria in samples of a patient’s blood, are widely used by acute care hospitals to find infections as early as possible, identify their cause and guide appropriate treatment, particularly with antibiotics. Contamination of blood cultures may yield false positives or inaccurate diagnoses of bacterial infections and, in turn, may lead to unnecessary antibiotic exposure and prolonged