Negative blood culture results rarely changed the management of medical inpatients. Our study suggests that in settings with broad-spectrum empirical antibiotic therapy positive blood culture results for obligate pathogens trigger adjustment of the antibiotic therapy in only about half of instances. Many blood cultures drawn in the emergency department where considered unnecessary by ward physicians. Guidelines for preventing unnecessary blood culture draws are warranted in order to increase the rate of their meaningful clinical consequences for medical inpatients initially treated with broad-spectrum empirical antibiotics.
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