How reliable is a negative blood culture result? Volume of blood submitted for culture in routine practice in a children's hospital

Abstract

OBJECTIVES. The primary aims of this study were to determine the volume of blood submitted for culture in routine clinical practice and to establish the proportion of blood cultures with a blood volume inadequate for reliable detection of bacteremia. METHODS. The volumes of blood samples submitted for culture from infants and children up to 18 years of age were measured over a 6-month period. Blood cultures were deemed adequate submissions if they contained an appropriate (age-related) volume of blood and were submitted in the correct blood culture bottle type. During the study, an educational intervention designed to increase the proportion of adequate blood culture submissions was undertak..