Blood Cultures: Postanalytical Considerations

Abstract

Blood cultures represent a critical tool for health care professionals as a means of detecting the presence of microbial organisms in the bloodstream of an infected individual. The presence of microorganisms in the bloodstream constitutes a serious situation that warrants timely and accurate identification of the microorganism(s) present. The Gram stain result of a positive blood culture is the important initial information that helps the clinician optimize empiric antimicrobial treatment. Blood culture contaminants are a major source of frustration for the clinician and laboratory personnel alike. The increased use of central venous catheters and other indwelling devices puts patients at elevated risk for bacteremia, often due to contamination or colonization of the line or hardware with cutaneous microbiota or environmental organisms. Interpretation of culture results for patients with indwelling devices in place is challenging. This procedure will address postanalytical processing for blood cultures, including reporting of results, interpretation, limitations, report archiving, consultation, and specimen storage.