Optimization of the blood culture pathway: a template for improved sepsis management and diagnostic antimicrobial stewardship

Publication date: March 2018 Source:Journal of Hospital Infection, Volume 98, Issue 3 Author(s): M.J. Weinbren, M. Collins, R. Heathcote, M. Umar, M. Nisar, C. Ainger, P. Masters Laboratory processing of blood cultures has remained static over the past 30 years, despite increasing antibiotic resistance and advances in analyser design. At the study hospital, siting the blood culture analyser in the blood sciences laboratory and optimizing the pre-analytical and analytic phases of blood culture management resulted in a reduction in the time taken to detect most blood culture isolates to <12h. Fifty percent of positive blood cultures containing Escherichia coli were definitively reported with antibiotic susceptibilities in <24h. More than 85% of blood cultures positive for E. coli had antibiotic susceptibilities reported within 36h of collection, compared with 66h at a comparator hospital.
Source: Journal of Hospital Infection - Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research